


Sins of a never-ending dawn

by Serpent_Fangs



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, BAMF Kuvira, Bandanas, Cowboy AU, Drinking, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gambling, Gang Violence, Gangs, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Horses, Lota of cowboy hats cuz they're sexy, Rating May Change, Romance, Shooting, Slow Burn, Smoking, Sort of red dead redemption 2 but make it Korvira, Violence, Wild West AU, all of the warnings that apply to rdr2, but not that slow, non-canon universe, very sexy outfits even though they're not intended to be, yeah they all apply here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29861220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpent_Fangs/pseuds/Serpent_Fangs
Summary: Korra frowned as she looked at the bounty poster in her hands. It had just been pinned to board in the sheriff’s office but she’d quickly snatched it up before anyone else could. She was keen to take this bounty for herself, the two-hundred and fifty dollar reward was just so enticing, besides she and her crew were running real low on money at the moment and a sum like this would not only boost morale but make living just a little bit easier.ORA wild west/ rdr2 multichapter Korvira AU with a hefty amount of plot, copious amounts of shooting and eventual sex...what could go wrong?
Relationships: Baatar Jr/Lillian (OC) (Background), Bolin/Opal (Avatar) (Background), Korra/Kuvira (Avatar), Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar) (Background), Very minor Kuvira/Lillian (OC)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 15





	1. Smoke rising

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy my fine friends!  
> Here is the first chapter of this story and I hope you like it!  
> If whilst you're reading this fic you think 'HEY! author lady! This sentence doesn't make any sense to me!' then it's probably because I've used real wild west terminology or phrases which i will make a list of and explain in the notes at the end :)  
> ALSO: this is in no way meant to be a historically accurate representation of this time period so please take it all with a pinch of salt but I will of course try to keep things within the realm of normality and not write anything too crazy "
> 
> Enjoy!

Korra frowned as she looked at the bounty poster in her hands. It had just been pinned to board in the sheriff’s office but she’d quickly snatched it up before anyone else could. She was keen to take this bounty for herself, the two-hundred and fifty dollar reward was just so enticing, besides she and her crew were running real low on money at the moment and a sum like this would not only boost morale but make living just a little bit easier. It might also remove some of the worry and stress from poor Zhu Li’s shoulders as she was working day and night, trying to find places they could earn some cash to stay afloat.

She was part of a small gang, The Fire Ferrets they called themselves, and despite thinking it was a stupid name she couldn’t help but love the crew. They’d formed a brotherhood over the years, becoming more like a family than a group of outlaws and she cared for each of them dearly even if she did want to throttle them sometimes. But what family doesn’t have its arguments?

Firstly there was Mako and Bolin; the two were brothers by blood and great assets to the group. Mako was a successful pickpocket and just as skilled with a pistol but he did struggle with the horses which brought great amusement to the rest of the gang who loved nothing more than to watch him try to handle the mares who had all taken a strong dislike to him. Bolin on the other hand was not so great with a gun but a fantastic cook and as a result had been crowned ‘chef’, being left in charge of butchering and cooking the animals that others brought back from hunting trips. Every day he made them a stew with whatever they had and it was always ready for the afternoon, warm and steaming in the pot as he called them over to get their bowl of the hearty meal. Sometimes the poor boy was given very little to work with, especially if they were low on money and couldn’t afford to ride to the nearest store and buy him basic ingredients, but somehow he always scraped something together and whilst it didn’t always taste the best, everyone appreciated his efforts to feed them.

Then there was Asami who was perhaps Korra’s closest friend, they’d met many years ago when a young and foolish Korra had tried to raid a stagecoach but hadn’t prepared herself for the number of guns she’d end up facing. Once she’d been noticed by the guards they’d immediately pointed their revolvers and rifles at her as the driver pulled the stagecoach to a stop so he could point his gun at her too. Asami, being the one within the wagon, had stepped out with an angry look on her face, wondering as to why her journey had been interrupted and by whom but her expression had lightened when she saw the lone outlaw in front of the coach. She turned to her guards, stating that she knew the girl on horseback (which she didn’t) and they looked at her suspiciously before lowering their weapons and watching incredulously as she climbed up onto the back off Korra’s white mare, sitting side saddle as she ordered them to take the carriage back to her father’s estate and leave her be.

The guards did as they were told and she sighed in relief once they were gone, explaining to Korra that she’d been trying to escape her father for many years, in search of a more fulfilling and adventurous life as apposed to being some posh house wife for the rest of her years. The outlaw had understood and offered for her to join their crew which the young woman gladly accepted, promising to be of use to the gang in some way. Turns out that Asami was incredibly good with money and handled all of their business deals for them as well as calculating their monthly allowances to spend on food, equipment and recreational purposes. She’d become a core part of the crew and they’d be completely broke without her guidance, probably blowing most of their cash on whiskey or something of the like.

Of course there was Zhu Li who was the mastermind of every operation or raid they carried out, carefully planning for all eventualities and outcomes they could potentially face. She was also their

gunsmith, fixing any problems they found with their weapons for free, the only price was that of the parts she needed but that was only required if she didn’t already have them. She was a kind and quiet woman who didn’t join in with many of the social events the gang attended but was priceless to them nonetheless so they weren’t offended by it at all.

Finally there was Varrick and Wu who had originally been a duo of outlaws, deciding to tackle the world by themselves but they soon realised that neither of them were natural leaders and that they desperately needed someone to take the reins so they ended up joining The Fire Ferrets after meeting Mako in a saloon who promised that if they brought guns and could fight then they’d be welcomed into the crew with open arms. They were decent enough shooters and were, for that reason, assets to the gang although Korra wasn’t sure she’d pick them to enter a duel to settle any disputes. She’d leave that role for herself or Mako.

“He’s a slippery one, you’ll be hard pushed to catch him.”

Korra looked from the bounty poster to her right where the source of the voice was and she saw Sheriff Tenzin leaning against his desk with his arms folded, smoking a cigarette, the puffs of smoke circling his head as they rose up to the ceiling before they dissipated. She’d known him for many years and she knew he had a soft spot for her, letting her get away with far more than any other sheriff would. She started a bar fight? No problem, she was let off with a warning. She pickpocketed someone? They should’ve been more careful with their property, she was let off with another warning. She shot someone? Well…accidents happen.

In most other towns she’d have been imprisoned if not hung for her actions but Tenzin let her off every single time and as a way of thanking him she dealt with all of the bounties or real troublemakers that gave him a crick in the neck which, in turn, kept his little town lawful and safe for not only him and his family but the other citizens too. Tombrock was a nice little place, it had a saloon, barbers, gunsmith, hotel, general store and a stable and it was only about a 20 minute ride from The Fire Ferret’s camp which made it a nice, easy local stop for the gang to grab supplies or anything else they needed. Their stables also supplied some lovely horses, it was where Korra had got her current mount, Naga, from. The mare was of medium build, relatively chunky but she wasn’t very tall, at least not compared to the warmbloods or halfbreds that some folks rode. She was a white Nokota with a kind nature and she was good to ride, quite relaxed at all times and responsive to commands. She was an easy ride in many ways unless she’d decided she didn’t like you at which point she’d pin her ears flat back to her head, squeal and kick if you tried to get close to her. Rather luckily she liked everyone in the gang other than Mako but he rarely handled the horses except when the crew wanted to have a laugh and made the poor boy do it.

“You always say that and yet I always manage to bring them in.”

Tenzin took a final puff of his cigarette before dabbing it out in an ashtray and leaving it there as he exhaled, the smoke billowing from his nostrils. He stood upright, taking his weight off of his desk and walked towards the young outlaw, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

“I just want you to be careful. Tahno has stolen from not just civilians but other gangs too which means there’ll be a lot of competition for his bounty and I doubt they’ll hesitate to shoot anyone who stands in their way.” He explained and Korra frowned a little, there weren’t any other gangs in this area so they had to be coming from further afield which made her worry a little. Some of the crews from further North were quite intimidating as they dominated a large area of land and had numbers on their side, something The Fire Ferrets did not. But the group from further south was the

one to really be feared though, they occupied Scorpion’s Vale which was a vast expanse of wilderness rich with flora and fauna for them to hunt and gather, they never had to worry about filling their bellies as a never-ending pantry was practically on their doorstep. The same gang also frequented, or rather owned, Ironpoint which was a lawless town, more akin to a city than anything which they ran seamlessly. They knew everyone who went in and out of that place and quite often, if they didn’t like you, you’d enter but never exit. Ironpoint and Scorpion’s Vale were names that instilled fear into the hearts of many, sheriffs and pinkertons dared not enter the territory to try and instil law and order as they’d get shot within seconds of stepping foot into the area. The gang in question were called The Beifongs and they were fearless gunslingers who were renowned for their lack of mercy and tough nature. They’d been settled South for decades and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon, no one had the balls to challenge them.

“Of course I’ll be careful, when am I not?” Korra retorted with a cocky grin on her face and Tenzin opened his mouth to respond but she held up her hand, stopping him.

“Don’t answer that.”

He sighed at her, shaking his head as he went back to his desk, sitting down at it this time, flicking through some paperwork which signalled the conversation was over. Tenzin was a strange man and his behaviour sometimes puzzled the outlaw but he paid her fairly for her work and let her get away with things that would usually be frowned upon so she didn’t mind.

Rolling up the bounty poster she slid it into her satchel and waved at the Sheriff who was now lighting another cigarette as he worked, which was her cue to step out of the office and walk to the hitching post where she’d tied Naga.

The air was cool as the evening drew closer and she decided to ride back to camp, she could start her search for this Tahno guy tomorrow, plus she was hungry and hoped that one of the gang had gone hunting so they had a decent stew rather than just having to eat a tin of baked beans. If she could get the bounty for this guy then it’d really help them out and make living more comfortable for them all, which only made her all the more determined to catch him and also reminded her that she should probably check the bottom of the poster to see where last known location was.

She gave Naga a quick pat on the neck as she unhitched her before hauling herself up into the saddle and giving the mare a quick nudge with her heels, urging her into a brisk walk as they started the journey home.

\-----------------------------

“Hey fellas!” She called as she walked into their little camp, having untacked her horse and left her with the other mares. She could see that Wu and Mako were playing dominoes which they often did in the evenings, Varrick and Asami were chatting or rather, Varrick was talking **at** Asami rather than **to** her as she was busy inspecting her nails and Bo was stirring the big black pot that was hanging over the fire, Korra guessed it contained dinner and her stomach growled at the thought. She also presumed that as usual Zhu Li was in her tent trying to formulate a plan to gain them some money.

“Evenin’ Korra.” Wu and Mako said unanimously, briefly looking up from their game to greet her before turning back to it with serious looks on their faces.

“How was Tombrock? Anything interesting happen?” The dark-haired boy asked and Wu rolled his eyes slightly.

“It’s Tombrock, nothing interesting ever happens there. Now will you just take you turn! At this rate I’ll be dead before the game finishes!” The tanned boy argued and Korra recognised that tension was running high which was probably due to their financial state.

“Actually I picked up a bounty poster and if I catch the guy then we’ll be comfortable for a decent time.” She said with a cocky grin, proud of herself as everyone in the camp turned to look at her with wide and excited eyes (well…everyone bar Zhu Li of course)

“What’s the reward?” Varrick asked eagerly, his eyes glittering in the firelight as he thought of all the clothes he could spend his share on.

“Two-hundred and fifty dollars.”

Silence encompassed them, the only noises being the crackle of the fire, the quiet chewing of the horses at the hay and the bubbling of whatever was in Bolin’s pot. Varrick’s eyes had stopped shining as he realised the take wouldn’t be quite as big as he’d hoped but all of the others were grinning from ear to ear with excitement.

“Two-hundred and fifty dollars?! That’s a lot Korra, enough to keep us going for a month or two quite happily!” Asami exclaimed and there was a quiet hum of agreement from the others who were still all smiling happily.

“Where’s the bounty?” Bolin asked as he stirred the stew once more, clearly deciding it was done. He grabbed some bowls and started filling them with their meal before passing them round to each camp member, even calling out to Zhu Li in her tent, telling her that food was ready.

“I haven’t checked yet.” Korra admitted as she gratefully took the bowl of food from her friend, it looked like chunks of meat mixed with kidney beans and whilst it wasn’t the most exotic dinner she’d ever had she was just grateful that she had something to eat, her stomach still rumbling. She sat, with her bowl, on one of the tree stumps around the fire and reached, with her free hand, into her satchel to pull out the poster, handing it to Bolin who’d put his bowl on his lap so he could take the parchment from his friend.

“Tahno Sang, wanted dead or alive for theft of large sums of money. Last seen in Bull’s Spring. Huh, sounds easy enough.” The boy said with a furrowed brow as he examined the drawing of the criminal.

“No. Don’t you dare take that bounty!”

Everyone leapt out of their skin at the voice behind them and they turned to see Zhu Li marching towards them, grabbing her bowl of stew as she did so and then coming to sit on a log next to Varrick. A firm frown was set on her brow and her mouth was pressed into a thin line, her jaw tensed.

“Hello to you too.” Varrick muttered but he got ignored by the other woman who instead proceeded to scold Korra for taking the poster.

“Seriously? Bull’s Spring? None of you are that stupid are you? Come on Korra I thought you were smarter than that, do you have a death wish?” She chided and the tanned girl scowled at her, frustrated at their gunsmith’s unexplained outburst.

“What’s wrong with Bull’s Spring? It’s West so it’s well out of the way of the other gangs. It’ll be one of the easiest takes we’ve had.” She snapped and Zhu Li looked at her incredulously.

“No Korra, it’s not! Bull’s CROSS is West, Bull’s SPRING is South on the outskirts of Scorpion Vale!” She cried and silence fell once more, everyone’s eyes wide with realisation and Mako cursed quietly as Asami pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Shit.” The blue-eyed girl murmured, that was why Tenzin had warned her about the other gang’s, because it was in **their** territory. How had she messed this up? She was their leader and she’d just promised them a decent sum of cash only to have it ripped away from them because she hadn’t read the fucking poster properly. Christ’s sake she was stupid.

“Sorry guys.” She said despondently, now having lost her appetite she placed her bowl of stew on the ground and went to get up and go to her tent so she could go and sulk in her own misery and bask in her failure.

“Wait a minute-“ Wu started and Korra stopped, staying sat so she could listen to the brown-haired boy.

“-if my memory serves, Bull’s Spring is actually on the border of Scorpion Vale and sits on Torn trail which is, in theory, not in the Beifongs territory. As long as you stay on the trail and don’t cross to the south side of the spring then you’ll be safe. As long as Tahno’s still there that is, if he’s gone any further into the Vale then you’ll be dead if you follow.” He explained and Mako slapped him on the back, grinning as he did so.

“You’re so clever Wu!” he said kindly and the boy blushed at the compliment.

“He’s got a point y’know.” Bolin said, agreeing with his brother and Wu’s statement as he handed the bounty poster back to Korra who was now feeling a little less stupid and slightly more hopeful. The tanned girl looked to Zhu Li for approval but the other woman was still frowning, her arms crossed disapprovingly.

“It’s too dangerous, you’d be risking your lives and for what? A bit of cash?” She grumbled and at this point Asami, who’d been quiet for most of the conversation, decided to speak up.

“I hate to alarm you all but our lockbox currently holds a grand total of fifteen cents-“

“-And that was our last tin of beans, we having one block of cheese left but other than that we’re out of food.” Bo interrupted and Zhu Li sighed, she really didn’t like the idea at all but she had to admit that both Asami and Bolin were right, they had no money and now practically no food also the score she’d been trying to set up had fallen through after an unforeseen complication and it would take her a while to find a new one. Regrettably they appeared to be out of options and as much as she disliked it she was just going to have to deal with the fact that they desperately needed cash and this seemed to be the only way they would fix that problem quickly.

“Fine but if we’re going to do this we need to be quick and quiet because it doesn’t matter if you’re not ‘technically’ on Beifong land, they’ll still shoot you without so much as a second thought if they see you that close to the Vale.”

“There’s no ‘we’ in this, I’m going by myself, it’ll seem less threatening.” Korra interjected having now pulled her revolver out of its holster, polishing the silver barrel with a rag she’d retrieved from her satchel.

“Don’t be ridiculous you can’t go alone, if we do come toe to toe with the Beifongs then you’re gonna need someone to watch your back.” Mako started “I’m coming with you and Varrick and Wu should come too.”

Korra scowled and shook her head firmly as she polished the sights on her revolver. It had been given to her by her father…actually she’d taken it off of his dead body after he’d been shot by pinkertons but that was a minor detail that she glossed over whenever she looked at the weapon.

“I’m not having any of you leave the camp whilst I’m gone, if anything happens to me then I need you all to stay here, Mako you have to stay to protect everyone, same for you Varrick and Wu.” She ordered and Zhu Li sighed with a roll of her eyes, looking at their leader with a raised and unimpressed eyebrow.

“Are you saying Asami and I can’t handle ourselves? Because dare I remind you I am your gunsmith…I mean…you might be right about Sato but ma’am I’ll have you know that I’m a crackshot with a rifle.” She teased although there was a tone of seriousness in her voice.

“No that’s not what I mean but I just think…oh nevermind, Mako you can come but Varrick and Wu **you stay here**.” She grumbled and silence seemed to follow, indicating an unspoken agreement which brought Korra a sense of relief as she slid her revolver back into its holster. They remained in silence, finishing their dinner before one by one they turned in for the night, heading to their individual tents. The only problem was, Korra couldn’t sleep, her mind was alive and buzzing with anticipation for tomorrow’s journey. Her and Mako would set off early and ride most of the day to get to Torn trail which they would then travel along into the night when they’d finally reach Bull’s spring and look for Tahno, hoping that the darkness would hide them from any patrolling gang members.

It was a simple plan and easy enough, besides they’d pulled off much harder tasks and as long as they didn’t make too much noise or fire their weapons then the Beifongs shouldn’t even notice that they were there. She had nothing to worry about, she was just overthinking. I mean, how hard could it really be?

\-----------------------------

Opal took a long drag of her cigarette allowing the fumes to fill her lungs before she slowly exhaled, sending puffs of smoke curling up from her mouth and to the ceiling of the saloon. This was probably her third cigarette in the past hour and it was all she could do not shove it into the bartender’s eye. He’d been making terrible attempts to flirt with her from the minute she’d taken a seat at the bar, clearly unaware of who she was, and he’d been sliding her drinks that were ‘on the house’. She’d had to hold back a laugh every time he said that because he clearly hadn’t realised that this saloon actually belonged to her family so she was entitled to free drinks anyway, after all this was Ironpoint. She’d hoped that the alcohol alone would’ve been enough to drown out his pathetic attempts at romance but it wasn’t so she’d resorted to smoking as well, a habit that her mother didn’t approve of but that her Aunt had gotten her into.

It wasn’t Lin’s fault really, Opal had just gone on so many patrols and raids with her that whenever her Aunt lit a cigarette she now found herself wanting one, so she’d started stealing them from the older woman, smoking them in private or whenever she was away from the eyes of her family. She loved them dearly but she knew her mother would go crazy with rage if she caught her daughter with the offending item between her lips.

She felt a hand come to rest on her back and she realised that the bartender had moved from behind the bar to come and stand next to her seat, leaning uncomfortably close to her face.

“Get off of me.” She said, with no fear in her voice, her only worry being his fate if he continued to push her, her fingers itched to thrust the cigarette into his eye or up his nose but she waited, hoping he would just give up once she’d rejected him.

“Aw come on darlin’ don’t be like that.” He said, sliding his hand further down her back other the silky material of her blouse and towards her ass. She had to admit it looked good in her tight ranch pants but that gave him no right to touch her like this when she’d explicitly said no. She was just about to grab the back of his head and smash it against the bar when she heard the familiar click of a revolver’s safety being cocked back.

“She told you to get off of her.” Came a deep voice from behind her and Opal fought to hide a smile as she took another drag from her cigarette knowing that this man’s fate had now been sealed. She didn’t even need to look to know that the bartender’s face would be the picture of terror but she glanced anyway, just to confirm her thoughts. Of course, she was right, and the man was practically trembling at the black revolver that now had its barrel against the front of his skull. The hand holding the gun looked strong with long fingers and the scar on the back of the thumb made her smile, she’d told her sister that five finger fillet was a dangerous game but the older girl hadn’t believed her and she’d been cocky which had resulted in her accidentally slicing the back of her thumb open. The scar that remained was a testament to that and it ran vertically along the back of the entire digit, just one of the many scars her sister had obtained over the years.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t realise she was-you were-she’s-it was a mistake, an honest mistake! I’ll make it up to you I swear and I’ll n-“

A loud bang sounded which made the other patrons of the saloon jump slightly but Opal had been expecting it so she didn’t move a muscle, instead watching the bartender’s lifeless body crumple to the ground as blood spilled out of the bullet hole in his forehead, dripping onto the floorboards.

“Thanks, appreciate it sis.” The young girl said, making no move to leave, instead putting her cigarette between her lips whilst she used her hands to wipe some of the blood splatters off of her ranch pants and blouse. It seemed like she wasn’t getting off that easily though as a strong hand gripped her arm and pulled her off of her barstool and towards the swinging doors of the saloon.

“You’re not supposed to be here and you know it.” Kuvira scolded grumpily, dragging her little sister out into the street which would’ve been completely dark if it wasn’t for the streetlamps illuminating it. She could see her own horse, a sweet little chestnut standardbred mare, hitched exactly where she’d left her an hour or two ago but there was also a massive black Dutch warmblood stallion tied next to her which she recognised as her sister’s horse. He was called Hawk and was the only creature Opal had ever met that almost had as foul a temper as his rider. He was a bolshy animal who kicked, bit, reared and bucked if anyone other than Kuvira went so much as within five metres of him and the younger girl had to admit that she genuinely hated the beast.

“I’m not twelve, I can look after myself.” Opal grumbled and her sister stopped pulling her so she could instead turn and look at her.

“I’ll believe it when I see it…and get that crap out of your mouth before Ma sees.” The dark-haired girl growled, pulling the cigarette from between her sister’s lips and throwing it onto the damp ground where she snuffed it with the heel of her boot. “You already stink like bourbon and ash, that in itself is enough to give away your filthy habits without visual proof.”

“That was a decent cigarette! That shit was factory made!” Opal argued, shoving Kuvira lightly and the other girl folded her arms in irritation and disgust.

“Firstly, that’s a pimp-stick, only posh assholes smoke that crap. Secondly, it’s a disgusting so stop it and finally, if you shove me like that again I’ll make you **wish** Ma had caught you smoking instead.” She threatened and Opal rolled her eyes but didn’t push her luck, raising her hands in fake surrender. Kuvira seemed to accept the gesture, turning back towards the horses and climbing swiftly up into the saddle, waiting for her sister to do the same before they set off.

“What’re you doing here anyway? You don’t usually come to Ironpoint…like…ever.” The younger girl asked as she hopped up onto her mare and the two started to ride down the street, Hawk practically frothing at the mouth as he sent a wild eye in Opal’s direction, almost as if he was offended that Kuvira was making him walk beside another horse.

“I was on patrol.” The dark-haired girl said nonchalantly with a quick shrug and her sister looked at her suspiciously, trying to read her face to see if she was lying but it was hard to tell under the streetlamps.

“Wing and Wei are on patrol today.” Opal stated, still watching Kuvira’s face and for a brief moment she saw a flicker of hesitation and immediately knew that she’d caught the taller girl.

“You’re lyin’ like a rug, why are you really here?”

Her sister didn’t answer immediately, instead the only sound between them being the clip-clop of hooves on the street which was slowly getting softer and softer as they moved further out of Ironpoint and into the vast open countryside of Scorpion Vale.

“I was looking for something to do or somewhere to go drinking, I needed to take my mind off of…things.”

“You mean take your mind off of **her**.” Opal corrected and the taller girl visibly stiffened which caused Hawk to pin his ears flat back to his head, sensing his rider’s discomfort. Kuvira didn’t respond, her mouth staying firmly shut as she scowled at the path ahead of them, nudging the stallion with the spurs on her heels and he responded immediately, trotting off ahead of the younger girl.

Opal’s poor little standardbred mare had to canter to catch up with the huge warmblood’s long strides and even when they drew level the smaller horse had to work extra hard to match the stallion’s pace. She’d expected this reaction from her sister yet it still irritated her now it’d come to fruition.

“Kuvira, it’s ok to feel sad or angry about it. I mean it’s not everyday the girl you have a crush on decides to marry your brother.” The younger Beifong said, trying to be sympathetic but again she got no response and usually this would be the moment when she stops pushing and trying to drag a reaction from the other girl but Kuvira had interrupted her time at the bar and destroyed her last good cigarette so she was more than a little pissed off with her.

“For god’s sakes you can’t just get fit to be tied every time someone mentions her. Lillian’s gonna to be your sister-in-law soon and you’re just goin’ to have to live with it. So buck up.” She called, having to speak louder to be heard against the thundering of hooves.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not the one who’s got feelings for Baatar’s soon-to-be wife.” Kuvira barked gruffly and when the canter they were in sped up even more, getting closer to a gallop which once again spread the two out as Hawk steamed ahead with his long legs, she knew that was her sister’s way of ending the conversation. Once she’d caught up, Opal decided to try a new tack and stayed silent, not wanting to irritate her sister any further as she was likely to punch the younger girl if she got any angrier. Whilst to some that may have sounded extremely violent or animalistic it was quite normal among the Beifongs for anger to be dealt with physically, a quick slap or a right hook to the face was a common way that they argued and on the rare occasion an all-out brawl between to family members. Most of the violence was kept among the younger members of the family but they’d all witnessed their grandmother Toph dish out a slap or two to any idiots that pissed her off.

“What were **you** doin’ in Ironpoint?” Kuvira asked, her deep voice breaking the silence and it startled Opal slightly, not expecting her older sibling to want to talk to her for the rest of the journey.

“You’re the one that found me, what did it look like I was doing?” She said snarkily and that drew a low laugh from her sister which was a foreign sound coming from the taller girl and Opal felt slightly proud of herself for pulling the noise from the other girl’s lungs. She’d always looked up to Kuvira and she was a hard woman to impress so to get a smile or a laugh from her felt like a reward in its own right.

“It looked like you were in a saloon after your curfew, drinking and havin’ a sneaky sissy-stick that you stole from Aunt Lin.”

“Do you have to call them that?” Opal whined and Kuvira slowed the canter a little so the two were more level which meant she could turn to look at her sister properly.

“What? Sissy-stick?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and her sister nodded.

“Well that’s what it is pipsqueak, it’s a factory made ciggy which makes it expensive as shit an’ only pimps from the big city can afford ‘em. That’s why it’s a pimp-stick or a sissy-stick. You’re only smoking ‘em because Aunt Lin took ‘em from that rich guy on our last score, she’ll run out soon an’ you’re gonna have to go back to the ones we roll.” Kuvira said with a shrug and Opal sighed sadly because she knew the older girl was right.

“Please don’t remind me.” She groaned “Just let me enjoy the good shit before I have to go back to those rancid tubes you lot call cigarettes. They’re basically just rolled grass. I don’t get why y’all smoke them.”

“Hey I don’t smoke, you know that.” Kuvira corrected and her sister rolled her eyes at how anal the older girl was about it. She always made it very clear to people that she didn’t smoke and thought it was a disgusting habit which Opal didn’t really understand but also didn’t care enough to ask why.

They continued their ride in silence, speeding along the track which took them back to one of the many Beifong residences until they could see the firelight of the camp and lights from the cabins twinkling in the distance. They came back to a trot and Opal decided to take a swig from her water flask, hoping to rinse the smell of alcohol and smoke from her mouth although she knew her attempts were futile. Kuvira noticed her sisters actions and felt for the girl, although she wouldn’t voice it, the wrath of Suyin was something none of them wished to face but it looked like Opal would be on the receiving end of it tonight and that did not lead for a happy family the next day. She put her reins into one hand and dug the other into one of her saddle bags as she searched for something to help the younger girl.

Eventually she felt what she was looking for and pulled out several small leaves that looked to be some kind of herb. She held them out to her sister who took them quizzically and examined them whilst her horse trotted calmly despite her lack of attention.

“Chew them and be quick about it because we’re nearly back at camp.” She grumbled, the younger girl pulling a face after she did as she was told. The plant initially tasted foul but eventually it broke down into a much fresher flavour, her mouth feeling more alive and clean than it had in a while.

“Wild mint, the scent should cover the stink of the cigarettes, it won’t do much for the alcohol though.” The dark-haired girl explained and Opal looked at her gratefully.

“Thanks ‘Vira and I’m sorry about earlier, I was being an asshole and you were upset about Lillian.”

Yet again her sister’s demeanour changed at the mere mention of Baatar’s soon-to-be-wife and her face became hard and passive, silence settling over them once more as they trotted ever closer to the camp until finally they’d reached the hitching posts and stopped, dismounting their horses and moving to separate posts to tie them to. There was one post that was much further from the others and Kuvira silently hitched Hawk there, keeping him a good distance from all of the other horses there. Not just because he was grumpy but because he was a stallion and if kept next to the mares then there’d be no telling how many foals they’d have to birth over the coming months.

Once their steeds were untacked and happily munching on hay the two girls walked into the massive camp together, upon the agreement that if anyone asked they were to say that ‘they’d gone out together’. This may have been a blatant lie but it would lessen Suyin’s anger if she knew that Opal hadn’t been out past her curfew by herself, instead being with her sister who was more than capable of protecting them both. Or at least…that’s what they hoped. They weren’t even planning on going to see their mother as that would only ignite her anger, both of them silently praying that if they just went to bed then they could avoid the situation entirely. Oh how wrong they both were.

**“Opal Beifong!”**

They both jumped slightly and turned to see not their mother but their father stood behind them, arms folded and a cross frown on his face.

“Where the hell have you been? It’s past your curfew and you know it! Kuvira have you been encouraging her to misbehave?” He scolded the older girl had to bite the inside of her cheek to restrain herself from spitting a rude retort but it appeared that Opal did not possess the same restraint, although that could’ve been due to all the alcohol she’d consumed at the bar.

“I’ve been out. And why do I have a curfew when no-one else does? It ain’t fair!” She cried and Kuvira silently wished that her sister would stop being so loud because she was going to start attracting more attention and then the rest of the gang would come out meaning she’d have to see-

“What’s going on out here? Is everythin’ alright?”

-Lillian.

“You have a curfew because you can’t look after yourself yet and you’re too irresponsible to be trusted!” Their father argued, ignoring the calls of the other Beifongs who were now emerging from their cabins and the various barns they’d been spread out in. Most notably was the cabin closest to them from which came a beautiful young girl who had long light brown hair that spilled over her shoulders in glorious silky strands. She walked out of her cabin and towards them in her nightdress, Baatar Jr following not that far behind but Kuvira didn’t notice him as beautiful belle made her way towards her.

“If I’m so irresponsible then why did you give me a gun Pa?” Opal yelled and it was then that their mother appeared causing everyone to fall silent. All of the other gang members who had been coming out of their cabins to see what the commotion was about scarpered back into their homes the second they laid eyes on the matriarch.

“Young lady, a gun does not represent responsibility, if it did then over half this country wouldn’t be allowed within five feet of a pistol. You have a curfew because you’re young and we’re tryin’ to protect you. Now it’s late and we’re all tired so go to bed and stop your yellin’. You’ll wake the old woman up and then we’ll all be in trouble.” Suyin barked in a hushed voice, scowling at her daughters as she did so and Opal sighed, nodding, hanging her head despondently as she resigned herself to the fact that she was only going to get into more trouble if she argued back.

“And as for you-“ Her mother said firmly as she glared at Kuvira “-I don’t expect you to be encouragin’ this sort of behaviour!”

“Encourage her? I was the one that saved her ass from that sleezy bartender who was about five seconds away from draggin’ her out back and havin’ his way with her!” She spat and silence enraptured the group as they all processed what she’d just said but Kuvira didn’t have that long before she received a harsh slap across her cheek from her little sister, the residual sting making her wince slightly. Opal was practically fuming at her, teeth bared as she snarled at the taller girl.

“They didn’t need to know about that!” She spat, squaring up to her sister and Kuvira scowled at her, her own anger rising at the younger girl, clenching her fists at her side.

“What just like they don’t need to know about your drinkin’ and smokin’ habits?! Yeah that’s right, Opal’s a smoker and she’s been stealin’ from Aunt Lin for months, puffin’ those factory made cigs like some rich city pimp!” She hissed and the second slap she received was much harder than the first and she felt a sharp sting underneath her eye where one of the rings on Opal’s fingers had connected with her skin.

“Enough!” Lillian cried, stepping between the two with her hands on her hips. “Su’s right, we’re all tired so let’s go to bed and deal with this in the mornin’ when we’re in our right minds.” The young woman ordered and Kuvira huffed, stomping off to her cabin, kicking a metal bucket that had been abandoned near one of the campfires before she went. When Opal looked back to her parents they looked deeply pissed off with her and she knew that she was going to get it in the neck now her secret smoking had been revealed.

“We’ll discuss this in the morning young lady.” Her father grumbled and both of her parents walked back to their large cabin which was halfway across the camp, leaving Opal, Lillian and Baatar Jr who’d been silent so far. Her brother rubbed his eyes tiredly and muttered a goodnight to his sister, going back to his own hut but Lillian didn’t follow, instead watching Kuvira in the distance as the dark-haired girl slammed the door of her living quarters so hard that she thought its hinges might break.

“I’m gonna go talk to her, try and calm her down.” The brown haired woman stated and Opal exhaled deeply through her nostrils, controlling her own anger and quickly coming down from her enraged high.

“Good luck.” She mumbled, turning and leaving Lillian who stared at Kuvira’s far away cabin.

~

Her cheek was still stinging and now it felt warm and wet so she wasn’t surprised when she looked in the mirror and saw that blood was trickling down her face, a small cut now sitting under her eye where Opal’s ring had broken the skin. She sighed, ignoring the minor cut, opting to get herself ready for bed. She kicked her black boots off and shucked her waistcoat and black hat, dumping the second two articles of clothing onto the chair by the little fireplace she had, her black bandana soon joining them. She unbuckled both of her belts, the one with her holster and subsequently her revolver, and the one that actually kept her pants up, leaving them on the chair as well. Then she unbuttoned her shirt and pulled off her pants until she was in just a tank top and her underwear which were more akin to boyshorts than a typical woman’s panty.

She was about to get into bed but she heard a knock at her door and she sighed irritatedly as she padded over to answer it but her frustration disappeared when she saw her brother’s fiancée stood there, a worried look on her face.

“Lillian.” She said breathily and Kuvira hated how needy and weak she sounded when she spoke to the brown-haired girl.

“You’re bleedin’.” The other woman said, pushing her way into the cabin and as soon as the door was shut she gripped the dark-haired woman’s chin, turning her head to the side and examining the injury.

“It’s just a cut.” The outlaw said nonchalantly but that didn’t seem to satisfy the other woman and she went to sit Kuvira down on a chair so she could tend to the minor wound but she saw that the taller woman’s clothes had been thrown haphazardly onto it and she frowned, crossing her arms.

“You are aware you have a dresser right?” Lillian teased, picking up her garments and folding them neatly before carefully placing them in the top drawer of the rather large tallboy that was in the corner of the room. She then came back to pick up Kuvira’s black boots, placing them neatly by the door and popping the woman’s hat onto a hook on the wall.

“Lil you didn’t have to do that.” She mumbled as the other woman gently pushed her down onto the now empty chair after which she moved to get a small bowl of water and a rag from the ‘kitchen area’. It was really just a basin for washing dishes with a small cupboard of food next it but what else did she really need?

“Nonsense, I ain’t gonna let you live like a rat with your things scattered ‘cross the room, now hold still and don’t yabber, I gotta clean you up.” The brown-haired woman stated and Kuvira hissed when the wet rag was dabbed over the cut, she hadn’t realised how much it would sting. They stayed like that, with Lillian cleaning the blood off of her cheek for a few minutes until the shorter woman stepped back to admire her work.

“All done.” She said once she’d decided she’d done a good job and Kuvira let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She mumbled her thanks to the other woman who simply smiled as she stood in front of the dark-haired girl, putting a single hand on the back of the chair and leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips which Kuvira returned with vigour.

Hitching her nightdress up to her thighs the brown-haired woman straddled the gunslinger and deepened the kiss as she put her hands on her cheeks, avoiding touching the sore cut under her eye. Strong hands caressed her bare thighs, squeezing them slightly as she slid her tongue into Kuvira’s waiting mouth. They battled for dominance as the heat of their mouths clashed, sliding all over each other with their tongues dancing together, a practiced dance, one they’d been doing for nearly 4

months now. It was the same routine, Lillian would come to her cabin once Baatar had gone to sleep and they’d fool around for a bit before she had to go back. Kuvira knew it was wrong and guilt weighed on her shoulders as she thought of the pain it would bring her brother if he knew but when she looked into those honey coloured eyes she couldn’t help herself. However now it was different, today Lillian and Baatar Jr had announced their engagement, or at least their plans to get married and the dark-haired girl knew that this was even more inappropriate than it had been in the first place.

“Wait.” Kuvira murmured as they separated briefly for air.“We can’t do this anymore, you’re about to marry my brother.” She said, registering the flash of confusion in the other woman’s eyes.

“But it’s just sex, it’s not like there’re any feelin’s behind it.” Lillian said nonchalantly and the green-eyed woman’s heart clenched at the statement, there might not have been feelings in it for the other woman but boy were there a lot of feelings in it for her.

“Lil, we can’t. I should’ve stopped this sooner but I didn’t so, I’m stopping it now.” She said firmly and the other woman sighed, climbing off of her a giving her one parting kiss before she moved to the door.

“Well it’s been fun darlin’ and you know where ta’ find me if you need me.” She smiled, blowing her a kiss before practically skipping out of the door and back to her cabin with Baatar jr who was most likely fast asleep.

Kuvira watched her go before a wave of sadness came over her. She thought that maybe Lillian would’ve begged her to let them continue or would’ve confessed her undying love for her but she guessed that it really had been **just sex**. There were no feelings in it whatsoever for the other girl and that hurt, it hurt a lot more than she’d like to admit. So to cope with this unfamiliar and uncomfortable emotion she decided to do the only thing she could think of.

**_Drink_ **

Going to her kitchen cabinet she grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass (although she wasn’t sure why because she was just going to neck it straight from the bottle) and sat down heavily at her kitchen table as she cracked open the drink and took a large gulp. It burned her throat but right now that was just what she needed so she continued to drink until her vision was well beyond blurry and her head was fuzzy. The warm feeling of the whiskey buzzing through her body made her sleepy and prompted her to go to bed so she stood from her seat at the table (well…she attempted to) and tried to step towards her bed but she staggered as she did so, collapsing into a drunken heap on the floor and swiftly passing out, the remaining liquid in the whiskey bottle dribbling out onto the floorboards as it fell to the ground with her.

\-----------------------------

The night air was colder than Korra had thought it would’ve been and it made her wish that she’d brought a jacket of some sort but she hadn’t, she’d been too focused on sneaking out of the camp without rousing any of her companions. She’d tacked up Naga as quietly as she could and dragged the mare out from their secluded campsite to beaten track where she mounted up and trotted off. She’d checked her satchel before she’d left and she had everything she could possibly need for the journey: a few strips of dried meat, a flask full of water, several small boxes of revolver ammunition, a lasso and a knife. Sure she’d have to find some other source of food for the journey but that was a problem for later and now Korra just wanted to focus on getting most of the riding done. In theory she’d reach Torn trail by the morning and she could give herself and her mare a chance to rest before continuing south towards Bull’s Spring which she should arrive at by sunset which meant she’d only have to wait an hour or two before she could start looking for Tahno.

She knew the crew would be mad at her for going by herself but she didn’t want them to risk their lives when she could go alone and be in and out in a matter of minutes. She could be quick and quiet and even if one of the Beifongs was on patrol they’d never see her under the cover of night. She did regret not bringing a jacket though, that’d been a big mistake. She was only wearing a blue shirt that she’d rolled at the sleeves and brown pants that were tucked into her brown boots. She also had a red bandana around her neck just in case she needed to conceal her identity although she doubted she’d need to because she was going towards Beifong territory which was devoid of law enforcements. To finish off her outfit she had her signature leather hat on, its faded brown and weathered look attesting to its age. It was yet another thing she’d taken from her father’s corpse and she’d worn it everyday since his death.

Korra was just sixteen when Pinkertons had murdered her parents and now, at twenty years old she’d since killed every single perpetrator in question, vowing to remain an outlaw for the rest of her days, in honour of her family.

“C’mon girl, let’s go.” Korra said to Naga who whinnied in agreement and broke into a relaxed canter taking them further and further from their camp. As she rode she heard owls hoot and the squeaks and shrieks of other nocturnal creatures. These were all sounds she expected, it may have been night time but the wildlife was a noisy as ever, buzzing with energy in the darkness. However the one noise she hadn’t expected to hear was heavy hoofbeats thundering up behind her and her hand instantly flew to her revolver as she turned to see who was following her. As soon as she saw the horse and rider her body relaxed as she realised, even under the pale glow of the moonlight, that it was Mako.

“Thought you could sneak off without me huh?” The boy said seriously as he drew level with her and she shrugged, not wanting to make to big of a deal out of it but that only caused Mako to sigh.

“Look I just-“ She started but her companion interrupted her.

“-wanted to protect the gang and thought that the best way to do that was by putting yourself in a dangerous situation with no one to watch your back?” He finished with an unimpressed look on his face.

“Well when you put it like that it’s sounds stupid.” Korra grumbled and Mako rolled his eyes although the tanned girl didn’t see due to the darkness.

“That’s because it **is** stupid. We’re in this together ok? We’re gonna go in there, catch this guy and be out before the Beifongs even realise we were there in the first place.” He said and Korra gave him an affirmative nod before shivering as a gentle breeze cooled her skin once more. She heard rustling as Mako turned to get something from under the bedroll that was at the back of his saddle and when he pulled out her jacket the outlaw silently rejoiced. He held the item out to her and she took it gratefully, thanking him multiple times as she slid it on, relishing in the familiar material. Whilst it didn’t get rid of the initial chill she knew that in time it would warm her and she pulled the collar up to shield her neck and jaw from the night breeze.

“Do you have a plan for when we get there?” Mako asked as they slowed to a walk to cross the shallow river they’d reached. It was called Old Worth Brook and was a decent fishing spot in the winter months when it was at its deepest but right now, with it being spring, the water was very shallow so all of the fish had moved further afield. The horses started to walk through the wide river, making their way across with a symphony of splashes to accompany them and Mako let go of his reins in favour of pulling a hand-rolled cigarette from his jacket and his little box of matches out of his pocket. He quickly struck a match and lit the tube, dropping the match in the river and but the little box back in his coat pocket. He took a long drag from the roll-up and exhaled slowly, the smoke making intricate patterns in the night air.

“I still don’t understand how you can stand those things.” Korra said with her nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell.

“And I don’t understand how you don’t like ‘em.” He retorted “So do you have a plan or not?”

“Of course I have a plan Mako, we get to the spring and look for any signs that Tahno’s been there. If we can’t find anythin’ then we have to give up but if we do find somethin’ then we use what we’ve got to find the bastard and take him to Sheriff Tenzin. And maybe if luck’s on our side then the little rat might still be there at which point we try and grab him but if needs be we kill him.” She stated, having formed this plan when she’d tried to go to sleep earlier. Sure it wasn’t very detailed or the most solid idea she’d ever had but it was better than nothing and since they were going into uncharted waters it seemed to be a good place to start.

“Ok, I like it. Have you thought about what we do if we encounter one of the _you know who_?”

The silence that followed his question gave Mako the answer he needed and he furrowed his brow, thinking for a second on what their course of action should be and he took another drag of his cigarette to help him think. It would be stupid to try and take on any gang members they faced as the Beifongs were known for their quick-fire reflexes and weapon accuracy so they’d be shot within seconds. Running also wasn’t a great idea as that put them out in the open, practically turning them into target practice. It appeared that their only option would be surrender and then to pray that the outlaws took pity on them or were kind enough to at least make their deaths swift.

“Well…I guess we could…I mean we could try to…we’ll cross that bridge when we get to.” Korra finally said as their horses reached the far bank, hopping back up onto the track now they’d crossed the river. They rode in silence for a little bit, instead listening to the sounds of hoofbeats and the nightlife around them but soon Korra itched to ask her friend about something that’d been bothering her for a while.

“So what’s going on between you and Wu?”

Mako choked on air, spluttering smoke as he did, completely caught off guard by the gunslinger’s question and it took several moments for him to regain his composure, snuffing his cigarette and throwing it to the ground once he’d gathered himself.

“Nothin’.” He shrugged, hoping the dark of the night would the pink tint of his cheeks but unfortunately Korra had known him too long and too well to miss it.

“Bullshit.” She said with a small smile and that only made her friend blush more as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

“No…not bullshit, there’s nothing goin’ on between us.” He mumbled but Korra laughed heartily and shook her head as she did so, indicating that she didn’t believe him. Despite this she didn’t press any further.

“Whatever you say pal.” She teased and Mako rolled his eyes, before turning the conversation to his friend’s love life, or lack thereof, hoping to make her squirm a little.

“Well what about you? What’s goin’ on in your love life?”

“I don’t have one.” She admitted with an uncaring shrug “Can’t seem to find anyone that wants to take the Korra-train but I ain’t too bothered ‘bout it.”

Her companion went to respond but he was cut off by the loud whistle of a train as they approached a railroad that stretched over the dirt road.

“Woah Naga, steady girl.” Korra crooned to the mare, bringing her to a halt with Mako following suit so they could let the locomotive go past before they crossed the tracks. As they waited the dark-haired boy fished out another cigarette from his pocket and lit it up before taking a slow drag. He could feel the weight of all his roll-ups in his pocket and he was just glad that he had so many with him because it was going to be **a long ride.**


	2. Jailhouse rock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Mako finally get to Bull's Spring in search of Tahno but they get caught unawares by a very angry and very heavily-armed gunslinger who just so happens to be called Kuvira. Family arguments and shenanigans ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy all! Here's chapter number 2! As i did last time there will be a list of translations/explanations for any unusual cowboy phrases! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Kuvira’s head was **_throbbing_** when she finally woke up and this wasn’t helped by the fact that her face was pressed into the wooden floorboards of her cabin which were incredibly hard. Her throat felt dry and a bitter taste sat on her tongue, the remains of the whiskey from last night, which didn’t dissipate even when she swallowed to try and diminish the aftertaste. She wanted to get up and fetch herself some water to ease her pounding head but slight churn of her stomach every time she tried to move forced her to keep still, just silently hoping that she’d either fall asleep again or that her gruesome hangover would ease.

 _Ugh, that’ll teach me to drown my sorrows with a whole bottle of whiskey_ she thought to herself but thinking made her head hurt so she stopped, instead just lying on the wooden floor, groaning quietly to herself as she wallowed in her own self-pity. There was a lot of light coming through the windows to her cabin which meant it must have been well into the morning…maybe 10 o’clock or so? Su would have her head for this, she was supposed to have gone on patrol with Huan at 5 this morning but here she was, in a crumpled heap on the floor with a wicked headache and unable to move. As if that wasn’t enough, her joints were sore from the night they’d spent on the cold hard floor as opposed to her bed and with every breath she took they complained to her, each bone and muscle in her body punishing her for her recklessness.

“You’re awake, good. I’ll go tell Ma.”

The voice, which sounded like it belonged to Opal, although she couldn’t be too sure, grated against her ears, her head only cursing her and throbbing more which in turn made her feel like her brain was going to explode. She mumbled out a strangled groan to her visitor and she heard a sigh followed by light footsteps getting fainter and fainter until there was the tell-tale sound of her door opening.

“MA! SHE’S AWAKE!” Opal yelled across the camp and Kuvira rolled onto her back, clutching her head as the harsh shout pierced her ears, it felt as if a thousand needles were being stabbed into her brain and it was all she could do to not cover her ears and cry.

“Shut. Up.” She croaked at her sister, wincing as one of the camp dogs barked loudly, the open door allowing the sound to travel into her cabin and thus her ears.

“Oh, hey. Ma wants to talk to you so be prepared to get it in the neck.” The younger girl said, leaning down over the taller girl and patting her cheek, with a small triumphant smirk on her face. Kuvira thought this odd as one of the few slash only things she could remember from yesterday evening was her parents promising to rain hellfire on Opal in the morning…but the morning was here…and Opal seemed fine, not the least bit upset or down heartened. It must’ve been later than she thought.

“What time is it?” She mumbled and the younger Beifong grinned at her smugly.

“Five in the afternoon.”

_Shit._

_Shit shit shit._

Kuvira was truly and utterly screwed. Her parents didn’t care how much she drank, she was 22 after all, but when it started to affect patrols or her ‘chores’ around the camp it really pissed them off so no doubt her mother was on her way to throttle her for missing half the day. As if on cue, Suyin stepped through the door although Kuvira, who was staring at the ceiling regretting her life choices, couldn’t see her, instead hearing her presence as those all familiar boots sounded her presence. Then that recognizable grey hair and firm frown came into her view as her mother joined Opal, both of them leaning over her.

“Mornin’.” The dark-haired girl said to the matriarch, promptly forgetting that it was infact the afternoon and all she got was a sigh in response.

“Opal dear, you might want to move so you don’t get wet.” The older woman said to her other daughter, the younger girl then promptly disappearing from her view and by the time the words had registered with Kuvira it was too late.

“Wait! Ma—”

She was cut off as icy cold water was thrown at her, drenching her from head to toe and she sat bolt upright, forgetting her hangover as she gasped, both for air and out of shock. She spluttered as water dripped down her face and she wiped it from her eyes, then pushing her wet hair back from her forehead. Her head was still sore but not nearly as bad as it had been earlier and she’d all but forgotten the feeling of nausea she’d had earlier, now too busy shivering in her soaked tank top and underwear.

“Shit Ma, was that really—" A second wave of water crashed over, splattering onto her chest and face which prompted her to scramble to her feet and wipe her face, hoping to shuck some of the liquid from her eyes and cheeks. The soft pit-pat of droplets falling to the floor surrounded them as beads of water rolled off her face and body into the floorboards.

“—necessary.”

“Afternoon sweetie, you missed patrol this mornin’ so you’ll be doing it alone tonight. I’ve assigned you to the northern border so make sure you’re ready to set off at 7 this evenin’. There’s some food for you in the barn.” Su said after pressing a loving kiss to her daughters wet hair, heading to the open door. The older woman paused in the doorway, Kuvira only now noticing the two empty metal buckets in her hands, turning to look at the taller girl, briefly glancing at Opal who was sniggering from her spot in the kitchen.

“Oh and Kuvira…don’t miss patrol again or a bucket of cold water will be the least of your worries. Love you girls, your father and I are off to deal with some business in Ironpoint so we’ll be back late.” She stated with a small smile before marching out of Kuvira’s cabin, shutting the door behind her at which point Opal burst into fits of laughter. Still dripping from head to toe the taller girl just stood there stunned and shivering as her sister went red in the face, giggling hysterically.

“If you’re just gonna laugh then you can get out.” She grumbled at the younger girl and Opal put her hands up as she tried to contain her laughter, still snorting with every breath she took.

“I’m sorry but that was, oh my god that was so funny!” She cried and Kuvira just ignored her, rolling her eyes as she picked up the empty whiskey bottle off of the wet floorboards, placing it on the table before she moved to her dresser and picked out her clothes, the same outfit she’d worn the day before, and a fresh pair of underwear and tank top.

“Go on pipsqueak, out.” She ordered, gesturing to the door and Opal, still laughing uncontrollably, complied, making her way out of the cabin. Once the door was shut Kuvira stripped her soaked tank top off, quickly followed by her underwear before she grabbed a cloth and towelled as much of her body off as she could before pulling on the nice dry pair of underwear and started to get fully dressed for the day. On went her dark green shirt, followed by her tight black pants, then her first belt that’s sole purpose was to hold them up, then her black waistcoat or ‘vest’ depending on where you were from. Her second belt went on, this one holstering her revolver and then she tied her bandana around her neck, not tight enough to be uncomfortable but not loose enough that it would come undone.

As she was sliding her boots on her stomach rumbled and she sped up drastically, desperate to go and get her breakfast which was actually in this case her lunch as well but that wasn’t the point. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror and decided to braid her damp hair in an attempt to dry it faster, or at least keep it out of her face. With her braid in place she stepped out of her cabin into the spring sunshine, after grabbing her hat off of its hook and placing it on her head.

She inhaled deeply, the fresh air clearing her lungs and sore head also bringing some sort of clarity to her as she headed through the large campsite to the main barn where they often held family ‘meetings’, sitting amongst the hay. As promised she saw some bread and a chunk of cheese left out for her on a small stool which she decided to sit on as she ate, relishing in the sweet smell of the hay as she tore off a piece of the bread. It was just what her hangover was calling for, the tough starch settling her stomach and the cheese filling her mouth with a much nicer flavour than the aftertaste the whiskey had left.

“Hey.”

Kuvira jumped, startled by the presence of another person and when she turned she saw her brother Huan walking to sit on the stool opposite her.

“Hey, sorry for missin’ patrol this mornin’.” She apologised with her mouth full, feeling slightly guilty at making the 19 year old go by himself but he didn’t seem to care a she shrugged at her nonchalantly.

“Ain’t bothered…’s nice to have some quiet time.” He admitted before digging around in his jacket pocket and furrowing his brow as he searched for something. His expression lightened as his hand grasped whatever it was he was looking for and Kuvira groaned when he pulled out a hand-rolled cigarette.

“What?” He questioned as he put the tube between his lips and looked in his other pocket for his matches, quickly finding them and striking one so as to light it.

“I can’t-

“-can’t stand cigarettes I know. Why do you make such a point ‘bout it? ‘s no big deal and besides didn’t you use to smoke like all the time?” Her brother asked, raising an eyebrow as he flicked back his long hair.

“No.” Kuvira replied, almost too quickly as she shoved the another chunk of bread into her mouth, hoping desperately that the conversation would move on and thankfully it did. Huan just looked at her for a second before shrugging and taking a drag from the tube.

He was a good brother, quiet and kind, who mostly kept to himself but was actually very interesting to talk to if you got the chance. He was good to go for a ride with too, it was always a relaxed experience with little conversation which suited both him and Kuvira perfectly as they preferred to take in the scenery or just enjoy the time with their mounts in a comfortable silence. The dark haired girl would say he was, after Opal, probably the sibling she was closest to, her and Baatar Junior had a very rocky relationship and they argued often and in reality Kuvira didn’t interact all that often with Wing or Wei. The twins preferred to spend their time together rather than with anyone else so they seldom chose to socialise with their other siblings.

“You probably shouldn’t do that next to all this hay. We don’t want a repeat of last spring.” She said, gesturing to her brother’s lit cigarette and he flushed with embarrassment at the memory of his previous hay-related incident.

“Don’t remind me.” He grumbled “Nana still twitches if we talk about it.”

This made Kuvira laugh as she remembered her grandmother’s rage when Huan had nearly burnt one of their barns down. Her face had been a picture and the boy had got the biggest beating of his life from the old woman who then refused to speak to him for nearly a month afterwards. It had been quite the experience and also mildly hilarious to the rest of the family who’d witnessed the whole thing.

She watched her brother get up and take his cigarette outside, away from the hay and she smiled, eating her last piece of bread and taking the remains of the cheese to go and feed to one of the camp dogs. She was looking for her favourite, Amos, who was a massive sandy coloured creature with very short hair, large erect ears, a long but relatively square muzzle and a big blocky head. He was slight and not in the least bit chunky with slim, long legs and a phenomenal turn of speed on him. Due to his strangely shaped head he’d earned the nickname ‘blockhead’ which he responded to more than his own name now. He was quite a wild beast, snapping and snarling at many who came close to him but as was always the way with the more feral animals, he loved Kuvira and would happily let her stroke him and handle him.

Kuvira saw the mutt chasing a chicken across the camp, although he wasn’t trying at all instead just chasing for the fun of it, and she let out a short low whistle, watching as the dog immediately peeled away from the hen he’d been after and lolloped towards her. He greeted her with a deep bark and she winced a little as it pained her still slightly sore head but she gave him a gentle pat and handed him the small chunk of cheese anyway. He took it gratefully and bolted off, the food in his mouth, trying to find somewhere safe and away from the other dogs to consume his prize.

She smiled and decided that it was probably a good idea to get ready for her overnight patrol so she should retrieve her weapons and fill up her water flask. She already had her revolver but she needed some of the stuff from her weapons locker that was outside her cabin so she trudged back to her home and knelt down in front of large brown box, clicking open the clasps until its contents was revealed to her. She had an array of guns that she’d collected over the years and they all had different purposes. For a patrol she decided to take her rifle, the one with a small scope on it, and one of her favourite repeaters. The metal on both of them was black and the wood was a dark oak, giving them a threatening and menacing feel. The rifle had white etchings in the metal, a mixture of swirls and spirals that just added that personal touch to the weapon and she knew this particular rifle well. She knew how to aim it to get the most precise shot, she knew the trajectory and how she’d need to alter her position to hit a moving target, she also knew all the little quirks of the weapon and hot to counteract it’s knockback etc.

She took her chosen guns out of the locker and looked to see if there anything else she needed. She didn’t want her shotgun, that was only effective at close range, nor did she want her pistol, again mostly effective at short range and did a lot less damage than her revolver. She had a bow and arrow but that was reserved solely for hunting so she finally settled on taking one of her knives instead. The one she picked had a handle made from a deer antler and had a silver blade that was sharp enough to slice through the toughest materials as if they were nothing. Slinging her guns over her shoulder and tucking the knife into her belt she went to tack up Hawk and get him ready for the long night ahead deciding to set off a little early in a hope of getting back into Su’s good books.

\-----------------------

“Mako, hey Mako. We need to get going, it’s getting dark.” Korra hissed, nudging her companion awake. They’d been camping out on Torn trail to regain their strength after their arduous night ride, now completely regenerated for the short ride to Bull’s Spring. The boy just grumbled in his sleep, ignoring the calls of his leader so she whacked him on the arm causing him to jolt awake.

“I’m up! I’m up!” He blurted as she went to hit him again, scrambling to his feet and she grinned triumphantly.

“Good, now we haven’t got time to eat anything if we want to get to Bull’s Spring by nightfall so let’s go.” She ordered and it was then that he noticed that Korra had already stomped out the remains of their campfire, packed up their bedrolls, their tent and was raring to go. The gunslinger mounted herself on Naga and waited for Mako to get on his own horse, the boy doing so as rapidly as he could in his sleep-addled state. The second he’d sat in the saddle Korra was already trotting off and he kicked his own horse to get him to follow. He was a shire stallion called Cooter but incredibly relaxed and well-mannered, it was as if he was gelded to be honest, his behaviour very sweet and unlike any stallion Mako had ever met before. He was a slow beast, lumbering along, and was more suited to slow long distance journeys than to high-speed chases so the outlaw prayed that they wouldn’t encounter any Beifongs as they’d have to ride at light-speed if they were to have even a vague hope of getting away with their lives.

“Why are you so keen to get there?” Mako asked once he’d caught up with his friend and he noticed that she was very tense, her arms stiff as they held the reins and her jaw set.

“I don’t know…I just want to get in and get out ok? I…I’ve heard some of the things the Beifongs do to trespassers and…I don’t know…it’s just terrifying.” She admitted quietly and he nodded in agreement.

It was a known fact that if you were caught on Beifong land and they didn’t kill you on site then you’d get taken back to one of their camps where they’d do the most unspeakable things to you. They’d drowned people, strangled them, covered them in burns; you name it they’d done it. Most notably their favourite form of torture was to lasso your feet and drag you through the vale whilst they galloped on their horses. You’d be dead within minutes but then they’d take you body back to camp and feed it to their pigs. The thought of it sent shivers down people’s spines and was one of the biggest contributions to keeping people away from their land.

“Don’t worry Korra, we’ll be in and out before they even know we’re there.” He reassured and the tanned girl nodded, remaining silent for the rest of the ride. Torn trail was actually a really beautiful path to ride along, surrounded by shrubs and trees and endless amounts of lush green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see. Even the trail itself was pretty, it’s surface made of a sort of reddy or copper coloured earth instead of your typical dark brown and it made it all the more appealing. Although the creeping darkness made it harder and harder to appreciate it as the sun set lower and lower by the minute, eventually forcing them to get their lanterns out as they continued along the path.

Bull’s Spring was, as it’s name suggested, a spring with beautiful waters that were brimming with fish and life, bubbling cheerfully even at night and Korra and Mako could hear it long before they’d reached it. They were still a couple hundred yards away from the spring when they decided to pull over and hitch their horses to a nearby tree. They took their lanterns and revolver with them, Korra also carrying her lasso with which to bind Tahno if they found him.

They moved silently and quickly as they approached the riverbank, looking for any signs that someone had recently been there. Korra went right and Mako went left, carefully scouring their surroundings for the faintest hint of human existence or presence and unfortunately the blue-eyed girl was having no luck whatsoever. All she could find on her side of the bank was some shrubs and animal dung which she’d nearly stepped in about three times in now.

“Mako.” She whisper yelled, turning back to look in his direction. “Found anythin’?” She couldn’t see the light from his lantern anymore and her heart rate spiked when she got no response.

“Mako?” She called, a little bit louder and this time she saw his lantern and head pop out from behind a large rock.

“What?” He responded and she decided that it was just easier to walk over to him rather than to call back and forth. Now if Korra had been paying proper attention to her surroundings rather than focusing on not treading in animal droppings as she walked back to Mako then she would’ve noticed the sound of hooves coming from the other side of the Spring but she didn’t.

“Have you found anythin’?” She asked once she’d reached her companion and he smiled at her proudly as he pointed at the ground behind the rock he’d been examining.

“The remains of a campfire. It’s still warm so whoever it is only left recently and judgin’ by the footprints leadin’ into the river I’m gonna guess he’s gone further into the Vale.” He announced as if he’d just said the smartest thing in the world and Korra pinched the bridge of her nose irritatedly.

“You are aware that means we can’t follow him and now can’t claim the bounty. Ugh Zhu Li, was right! We never should’ve come here!” the gunslinger cried angrily, kicking at the remains of the Tahno’s campfire.

“You’re damn right, you shouldn’t have come here.”

They both froze sat the unfamiliar voice and turned around slowly to see a tall figure stood behind them. She had a very deep voice, at least Korra presumed it was a she, and was dressed head to toe in black, save the green shirt under her waistcoat. She also had a black bandana covering her nose and mouth so all they could see of her face was her sharp eyebrows and deep emerald eyes, one with a beauty mark underneath and the other with a small cut underneath it. Her hair was in a long black braid that came to rest over her shoulder but the rest of it was covered by the black hat on her head. She also had **_a lot_** of guns and that in itself stopped Mako and Korra from even trying to reach for their own revolvers, instead putting their hands up unanimously to show they meant no harm.

“The hell are you doing here?” She growled and the two Fire ferrets found themselves scrambling and stuttering to answer the woman’s question, their hearts pumping out of genuine fear.

“W-we just came to collect a b-bounty-“

“-He wasn’t here though so we’re just leavin’-

“-yeah we’re j-just leavin’ and we’ll never come back here we swear it!”

They said unanimously but that didn’t seem to satisfy the woman as she reached for the black revolver on her belt.

“His name’s Tahno Sang and he’s s-stolen from other gangs and he might be tryna steal from you!” Korra stammered but all that did was elicit a low laugh from the other woman.

“Well that’ll be the last mistake he ever makes. Now what am I gonna do with you two? I could just shoot you and that’d solve my problem…” She said menacingly, cocking back the safety on her gun with a loud click. Fearing for both their lives Korra did the only thing she could think of.

“A duel!” She cried. “I challenge you to a duel!”

There was a pregnant pause were the taller woman looked at her with a raised eyebrow but then she let out a low and long laugh before pulling her bandana down.

“You’re feisty. I like that. Both of you get on your knees and if either of you move I’m going to blow your brains out and paint the grass with your blood.” She ordered and they immediately complied, dropping their lanterns, not wanting to anger the outlaw. She moved behind them and roughly grabbed Korra’s arms, binding her wrists with rope behind her back and then doing the same to Mako.

“Get up and walk, I’m taking you back to camp. It’s not too far.” She said, taking her repeater off of her shoulder and poking them in the backs with it. They started to walk through the spring until they reached the other side, now ‘officially’ in Beifong territory, and they both noticed a large black stallion standing diligently behind some shrubbery.

“Yip yip.” Their captor called to the creature who dutifully marched out and to her side, walking behind the Two Fire Ferrets with his rider.

“If you try to run then you’ll get a bullet in your back before you’ve taken two steps.” The woman barked gruffly and Korra gulped slightly, knowing full-well that the gunslinger meant it. She wished she’d listened to Zhu Li because now their gang was left to fend for themselves and she feared for their futures. She felt like the worst leader in the world, she’d ignored her crew member’s warnings and then consequently hurt their chances at survival. She was a fool and she knew, maybe she deserved to die at the hands of the Beifongs.

\-----------------------

“NANA TOPH! LOOK WHAT I FOUND ON PATROL!” Kuvira yelled as she marched her captives into the camp and she patiently waited for a response from her grandmother but when she got one it wasn’t quite what she’d hoped for.

“I’m blind you mutton-headed fool! I can’t **look**!” The old woman replied from her cabin window, but nonetheless the elderly gangster came out of the hut and walked to where Kuvira had called her from. Somehow Toph had managed to get through life as a gunslinger despite being blind and she continued to amaze her family by performing camp chores and jobs as if she had full vision, it was like she could sense everything around her and as a result almost didn’t even need her eyes to see.

“What is it?” The old woman grumbled once she’d reached her grandchild, her favourite one might she add.

“Two trespassers Nana, found ‘em up at Bull’s Spring.” She admitted proudly, hoping to impress the matriarch but instead she got a scowl from her grandmother.

“Well why’d you bring ‘em here?”

Kuvira wasn’t actually sure why’d she’d brought them back to camp rather than just shooting them the second she’d seen them so she couldn’t answer the question, instead remaining silent which earnt her a ‘hmph’ from the old woman.

“I ask you a question and you just stand there wiping your chin after all that hollerin’. Just scoot an’ take ‘em to the cellar in the barn already and since yer so keen to keep ‘em you can watch ‘em ‘til yer Ma gets back.” Toph ordered and Kuvira nodded, then remembering that the old woman couldn’t see so she verbalised her agreement.

“Yes Nana.”

“Well done screamer.” The old woman said before turning towards Hawk who was still behind the trio and gently taking his reins as he snorted at her. She hummed at him quietly, patting his neck and walking away with the beast in tow, maybe to go and hitch him although the younger girl couldn’t be sure. Her nana was the only other person that the stallion liked so she handled him quite frequently, a soft spot having bloomed in her heart for the foul-tempered creature. The tall girl was too wrapped up in the compliment Toph had given her, making her pride swell as her grandmother rarely gave them out and she pushed her prisoners in the direction of the barn with a small smile tugging at her lips.

Once inside the cellar she searched their bodies for any weapons, starting with Mako although she only found his revolver and cigarettes on him, quickly taking them and leaving them on the small table and chair before moving to Korra swiftly afterwards. She took the obvious gun in the tanned girl’s holster before searching the pockets of her jacket and removing the girl’s hunting knife and then taking her satchel. Satisfied that she’d taken all their weapons she shoved them into the cell that had been built down in the cellar for precisely this purpose. She shut the door and locked before settling herself in the wooden chair outside the cell, kicking her feet up onto the table that was covered in their stuff.

~

“Are you gonna kill us?” Mako asked and Korra looked at him incredulously with wide eyes. Now was not the moment to talk to their captor, not when she’d just pulled out her black revolver and was cleaning it’s barrel! Did he have a death wish?

“Dunno, ‘s not up to me.” The dark haired woman answered honestly, not looking at them from her place outside their cell. The rope on Korra’s wrists was now starting to get sore as was Mako’s which is clearly what prompted her companion’s next question.

“This might be askin’ too much but could you loosen my bindin’s a little bit? They hurt.” He asked and at this point their captor tucked the rag she’d been using to wipe her gun in her pocket, turning her head to look at the two of them.

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do you scamp, if you don’t shut you bazoo then I’ll give you the big jump and I’ll just have to explain to my Ma that you were pissin’ me off too much!” She growled, frowning at him fiercely and Mako immediately took the hint, falling silent.

“Actually-“ She started and Korra felt her heart skip a beat nervously. “-why don’t we play a game together? I call it Six round roulette and what happens is I load my revolver with jus’ one bullet, a random one, and then I aim at you and…well I better just show you.” She said with a smirk gracing her lips and she emptied all of the ammunition from her revolver before picking a single bullet back up and slipping into a slot in the cylinder. The span the cylinder round and locked it into place in the frame before aiming the gun at Mako through the bars of the cell.

“Don’t shoot him!” Korra shouted but it was too late as the dark-haired woman pulled the trigger and she waited to hear the residual bang followed by a thump of her companion’s lifeless body but it never came.

“One.”

Their captor smiled and moved to aim at Korra, again pulling the trigger but once more nothing came.

“Two.” She moved back to Mako but he escaped the bullet as once again the gun didn’t fire it at him.

“Three.”

It was trained back on blue-eyed girl and she found herself gulping as she realised her chances of surviving were becoming slimmer and slimmer with each time the gun didn’t fire.

 _Click_ went the trigger but once more it was followed by silence besides their captors counting.

“Four.”

She could see Mako was sweating slightly and she felt her own palms grown sticky with perspiration and fear.

_Click._

Mako was safe.

“Five.”

Seeing the black metal of the revolver pointed at her, knowing that it’s final shot was aimed and ready to be fired, terrified her but she refused to let it show, instead putting on a brave face for her friend.

“Mako, I’m sorry I dragged you out here, you should’ve stayed with the others.” She blurted, hoping that the dark-haired woman would at least allow her to say her final words to her companion.

“Well if this is the end then I want you to know that I don’t regret anythin’. You’re our leader and I’d follow you anywhere Korra. And for the record, you were right, I’m with Wu.”

_Click._

“Six.”

They both looked up in total shock that Korra remained unharmed and they saw a genuine smile on the tall girl’s lips as she let a deep laugh out. They didn’t understand how it was possible that neither of them were dead so they looked at her quizzically, hoping she’d explain which she then proceeded to do.

“The safety’s on.” She said, showing them, before unloading the single bullet from the cylinder and placing it on the table with the rest as she slid the revolver into its holster on her hip. Somehow Korra found the hilarity at the realisation that the gunslinger had been teasing them, just to scare them a little, and before she stop herself she let out a chuckle.

“Somethin’ funny blue eyes?”

“Yeah, that whole ‘I’m gonna kill you’ but then you don’t is kinda hilarious.” She said with a cocky grin and although Mako was looking at her with a ‘what the fuck are you doing? Sort of stare she saw the edge of her captor’s lips twitch upwards into an amused smirk.

“It’s Korra, right?” The dark-haired woman asked and she nodded in response to the question, both of them still smiling at each other.

“I like you, you’re real interestin’.” She said, getting up from her seat outside the cell. She walked up to the bars, leaning against them as she observed Korra some more.

“I’d like say the same but we know almost nothing about you.” The blue-eyed outlaw admitted and their captor just grinned at her wolfishly, still leaning her arms against their cell. Mako was stood beside the tanned girl yet he felt as if he wasn’t in the room at all, watching the exchange in slight wonder and confusion. He wasn’t really sure what he was witnessing but it appeared that Korra was either trying to get information from the gunslinger or attempting to undress her with her eyes and honestly who wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Oh and I’d like to keep it that way bucko, you don’t need to know **anythin’** about me. Only thing you need to know is that suckin’ up ain’t gonna get you off any lighter but nice try.” She said with a laugh and Kora seemed to blush a little, her act having been caught.

“Was worth a try.” The tanned girl said with a shrug and it was then that the door to the cellar opened and footsteps could be heard as someone else entered the room. It made both Fire ferrets sweat a little, their hands feeling clammy and their hearts thumping as they realised that this new visitor could potentially seal their fates.

“Hey Ma.” The dark-haired girl said and Korra and Mako watched as a lady with grey hair stepped into their view, her arms folded and her face adorned with a frustrated scowl.

“Are you kiddin’ Kuvira? First you miss mornin’ patrol because you were too busy drinkin’ and then you drag two shannies back to camp and expect me ta’ deal with it? Christ sake’s girl keep this up and it’ll be you in the cell rather then them!” The older woman cursed and her daughter didn’t reply, stuffing her hands in her pockets instead.

Eventually once the silence had stretched on for long enough Kuvira’s mother, Korra wasn’t sure what the older woman’s name was, looked at both her and Mako as if she was trying to size them up and establish what they were doing there. Her piercing green eyes scrutinized them and both her and the dark-haired boy looked at each other nervously whilst they waited to hear the woman’s verdict on their inevitable demise.

“Escort them back to wherever the hell they came from in the mornin’. You can guard them overnight.” She ordered, making the two fire ferrets jump slightly and an awestruck and irritated ‘what’ left Kuvira’s lips.

“B-but Ma they were trespassin’!”

“Just shut pan and do it! They’re harmless enough. If they were bandits or pinkertons then it’d be different but they’re not.” The old woman with a tired sigh and the dark-haired girl went to argue against her but the matriarch held her hand up, silencing her daughter.

“You’re gonna be Singin’ to ‘em until sunrise and then you’ll take ‘em across the whole damn country if you have to! Jus’ make sure they don’t come back.” She snapped and the younger gunslinger’s shoulders slumped, nodding her head in agreement and just like that the old woman was gone, back up the stairs and out of the cellar. As soon as she was out of earshot Kuvira scowled and kicked the leg of the table that had all of their stuff on.

“Scaly Sage Hen.” She muttered before sighing and sitting down heavily at the chair outside their cell once again. The outlaw said nothing to the two captives, instead she just pulled fiddled with her sleeves, rolling the green shirt up to her elbows, exposing her strong forearms. She looked completely disheartened and largely angry at what her mother had said to her and Korra had to admit that the woman’s words had been harsh, perhaps unnecessarily so which made her feel bad for their captor, after all she didn’t seem like a bad person. To the tanned girl it just looked like she was trying to protect and then impress her family, neither of which had gone well for her.

“Hey...Kuvira?” She said quietly and the glare she got met with was enough to make her heart stop.

“Shut the fuck up, you don’t get to say my name.” The green-eyed girl spat, her whole demeanour having changed and that earlier, charming, cocky and slightly flirtatious side had completely disappeared, in its place was this very raw, angry and cold person that looked like she was ready to slit both of their throats.

“Christ I’ll be quiet then.” Korra retorted and all she got in response was an irritated huff from the other girl who was now slumped back in the chair, her legs spread wide as she stared at the floor angrily, trying to burn holes into it with her gaze.

The blue-eyed girl looked at her friend who seemed to be ignoring how foul-tempered their captor was and instead had proceeded to grin like an idiot at the prospect of both of them being set free in the morning. He looked at her happily and she couldn’t help but smile back, the feeling of relief setting into her as she realised that she was going to get to see her crew again.

~

Kuvira’s blood was practically boiling as she sat, slumped, in the chair outside her captive’s cell. She didn’t understand why Su hadn’t been proud of her. The family rule had always been: If you catch trespassers or bandits you bring them back to camp and they’ll be punished or shot. It was a simple rule so she couldn’t comprehend why her mother wasn’t following it and it only enraged her that on top of that she now had to escort these two idiots back to wherever the hell they lived which for all she knew could’ve been half-way across the damn country! She looked up and her rage only grew when she saw the Korra and her friend grinning at each other and she knew immediately that they must’ve been laughing at her.

“The fuck you smilin’ at?” She growled, causing both of them to jump slightly before looking at her with wide eyes, their previous grins vanishing instantly.

“N-nothin’!” The boy stammered “We’re jus-

“-laughing at me? Don’t fuckin’ lie to me I saw you two smilin’ at each other! You think it’s funny don’t you? You think it’s funny that my Ma told me what to do! Well I’ll give you somethin’ to fuckin’ smile about!” She snarled, grabbing her hunting knife from her belt and unlocking the door to their cell, shutting it behind her before moving to Mako and pressing the blade of her weapon against his throat.

“You still think it’s funny?” Kuvira hissed menacingly, her nostrils flare and her teeth bared, Mako whimpering slightly as he shook his head but he had a limited range of movement given the blade that was digging into the soft skin of his neck. Korra was unable to do anything to help given that her hands were still bound behind her back just like her companion’s and she didn’t think that yelling or shouting at the Beifong outlaw was going to help the situation so she just watched silently. After a few moments the taller girl’s temper seemed to settle a little, or at least she came back to the reality of rationality and sensibility as she withdrew the knife and slid it back into her belt, stepping away from Mako and back out of the cell, slamming the barred door behind her and locking it upon her exit. However this time she didn’t sit back at the chair, instead she stomped off up the stairs and out of the cellar, leaving the two fire ferrets to themselves. Once she was gone they both let out a huge sigh of relief and turned to each other with big grins.

“She’s terrifyin’ but on the bright side, looks like we’re getting’ out of here in the mornin’!” Mako exclaimed excitedly and Korra released a breathy laugh.

“Damn right she’s terrifying, I thought we were dead-meat. But at least she’s easy on the eyes so that makes it lil’ better.” She admitted and her companion looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk.

“Korra…predictable as ever my friend…trust you to think some trigger-happy psycho is attractive. Next thing you know you’ll be sweet on her and she won’t even have to spoon you!” He teased which caused a deep blush to shoot up her neck and into her cheeks, if her arm had been free then she would’ve swatted him on the arm but it was still tied to her other, firmly stuck behind her back.

“I will not be sweet on her, just because I’m sparrow catching doesn’t mean I’m gonna fall for the first girl that I meet.” Korra argued trying to defend herself but her friend was having none of it and continued to tease her, poking little jibes or comments at her which only made her blush grow fiercer. Eventually she decided to turn the conversation on him, shutting him up for a few seconds.

“Earlier when we she was pointing her revolver at us…you said you’re with Wu…care to explain loverboy?”

Mako went scarlet and opened his mouth but no sound came out so he quickly closed it again, gaping like a goldfish as he tried to find a decent answer. As suspected he said nothing for a short while and the tanned girl had to stop herself from sniggering at his reaction. Both she and Bolin had suspected for a decent time that something was going on between Wu and Mako, they played domino’s together every single night, frequently accompanied one another on rides or trips into Tombrock and they always opted to share a tent with each other if the occasion arose.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” He eventually managed to force out and Korra rolled her eyes half-heartedly as she smiled at him warmly. She knew that the two would become open about their relationship when they were ready so for now all she could do was tease him about it. In fact, she was about to make some sarcastic comment about ‘Wuko’ as Bolin had coined it but the cellar door opened again and they were completely surprised to see that Kuvira had returned but this time when she did, it was all Korra could do to not start drooling. The taller girl had shucked her shirt and waistcoat, leaving her in a gloriously snug white tank top that allowed the blue-eyed girl to admire every inch of those deliciously muscular arms, littered in scars of various shapes and sizes. The most notable was one that spanned most of her upper right arm and it was three huge red slashes that looked like claw marks and Korra shivered at the thought of a creature large enough to do that sort of damage.

Kuvira still had her hat on and was also still wearing her tight black pants and boots, much to the blue-eyed girl’s dismay but the more positive news was that the gunslinger seemed calmer now and clearly stepping out of the cellar for a bit had done her good. However she still didn’t look at or even acknowledge either of them, plopping down on the chair unceremoniously and leaning one elbow on the table staring at the floor.

Korra let out a tired yawn and Mako glanced at her with a look that said ‘you can go to sleep’ but she just gestured to bindings at her wrists, indicating that she couldn’t sleep like this, and she was starting to get quite warm in her coat. Before either of them could react Kuvira was in their cell again, knife in hand and striding towards Korra which made the blue-eyed girl more nervous than she’d like to admit. Rather surprisingly she moved to stand behind the younger outlaw and there was the sound of the knife sawing through something until suddenly the pressure on her sore wrists disappeared and Korra was given the freedom of her arms back. She did the same to Mako and stepped out of the cell for a final time that night, settling into her seat once more and muttering a few words to the captives.

“You’re going to want to take your jackets off, it gets real hot down here.” She grumbled and the two fire ferrets complied immediately, feeling relieved that they were able to move properly again, and they dumped their coats on the floor of the cell, Korra also taking off her hat and boots. If they were going to spend the night in here then she was not going to keep her dirty boots on, that was a step too far.

“Oh and you should try to get some rest, we’ve got an early start tomorrow.” Kuvira said tiredly after a small yawn had escaped her own lips but she didn’t make any move to settle herself or try to go to sleep which puzzled the blue-eyed outlaw to no end. Surely she’d have to rest too? Mako didn’t seem at all bothered by this, instead lying on the hay that padded the floor of their cell, getting himself comfortable for the night. Korra remained awake for a while, even after her friend had started snoring and saw that again Kuvira was still sat there, watching her through half-closed eyelids. She looked _exhausted_. Yet every time the tanned girl thought their captor was nodding off she seemed to jolt awake, cursing to herself quietly.

“Hey.” Korra whispered and when Kuvira looked at her the taller girl didn’t look angry nor hostile, she actually seemed quite docile and relaxed.

“Whaddya want?” The green-eyed girl whispered back and the hushed tone of her deep voice made the tanned girl’s heart warm. That tone sounded so caring and sweet and it was such a stark contrast from what she’d seen so far of the gunslinger that she couldn’t help but feel uplifted by it. Of course Kuvira didn’t mean it like that and probably only sounded so soft because she was practically asleep on the table but she took it nonetheless.

“I was just gonna ask, why aren’t you restin’ like us?” She asked and the outlaw smiled drowsily.

“Not allowed to, gotta watch you scamps. Why? You tryna get me to nod off so you can escape whilst I’m out cold?” The raven-haired girl retorted and it felt like this attitude was akin to the flirtatious and cocky side of the gangster that she’d seen earlier that night.

“No Ma’am, you just look tired.” Korra answered honestly and that got her a half-hearted snort from the taller girl.

“Gee, thanks.”

“I didn’t mean it like that you ass.”

Kuvira looked at her, picking up her black revolver at the same time as she sent the shorter girl a vague smirk.

“Do you really think callin’ me an ass is you best idea given that you’re the one in the cell and I’m not?” She teased as she waved her gun vaguely in Korra’s direction which would’ve been far more menacing if she hadn’t been cut off by a large yawn. They locked eye contact briefly and the tanned girl couldn’t quite believe how gorgeously attractive those deep emerald orbs looked in Kuvira’s sleep-deprived state. Her captor was in general a very beautiful woman and the younger girl couldn’t help but admire her. She’d always been able to appreciate an attractive woman and this was no different: the dark raven locks that were tied into a neat braid looked soft and silky, the skin of her face was pale yet smooth, the line of her jaw was sharp and strong, her lips were thin and a dusky pink and she liked the way that the right corner would twitch upwards into a smirk when she said something funny, her eyes were rich in colour and seemed to shine brightly even under the dim candlelight that filled the cellar. The little beauty mark under her eye was perfectly round and as if someone had drawn it on with a pen, sitting neatly on her cheekbone and the little cut under her other eye, whilst still looking a little sore had scabbed over so left just a little red line there and it was quite captivating. Even down to her thick shapely eyebrows that consisted of neat and sharp lines and made her look quite serious were somehow fitted perfectly to their captor.

Her bare arms were a similar story, the well-defined muscles spanning them were quite something to behold and the scars that curled and snaked around them were also fascinating. Korra wanted to ask how she’d got them all, imagining great stories of raids and adventures that’d gone wrong where she’d only just escaped with her life. She noticed one that seemed to run over the back of her entire left thumb, starting just under the nail and going all the way down to where the digit joined her hand. It was thin and white, looking as if it had been made by a knife and clearly when the wound had healed it hadn’t done so properly as the lines of the back of her thumb no longer lined up, instead creating a mismatch short lengths where they met at the scar. 

Korra had her fair share of scars or marks to remind her of her youthful foolishness but they were nothing but little nicks or scrapes compared the large healed over bite marks or scratches that were on Kuvira. Whilst they were incredibly appealing to look at and added an edge of roughness and resilience to the woman’s appearance it still made the tanned girl’s heart clench as she thought of the pain and agony that some of those scars must’ve caused the taller girl.

“You’re staring.” Kuvira’s deep voice rumbled and the blue-eyed girl found herself flushing with embarrassment, looking back up to meet emerald eyes with an apologetic glance and a weak smile.

“Sorry, I was just lookin’ at the scars.” She admitted brazenly and the other woman’s lips quirked into a small smile as she looked down and studied her arms, running her long fingers over some of the marks.

“Don’t be sorry, I get it. There’s a lot of ‘em.” Gunslinger responded as she thumbed at one on the side of her wrist, as if she was trying to gently rub it away.

“Yeah, there kinda are…but hey it’s alright, I’ve got a couple of my own.”

That got her a raised eyebrow and a questioning look so she rolled up one of the sleeves of her blue shirt and showed her captor a white burn mark on her elbow.

“Got it by leaning on Bolin’s cooking pot. I hadn’t realised it was still hot.” She explained and Kuvira looked at her with a very confused and very tired expression which reminded Korra that they both really needed to get some sleep.

“Who’s Bolin?”

“Oh he’s Mako’s brother.” The blue-eyed girl stated, gesturing to her sleeping companion. “He’s our ‘chef’ if you will, does all the cookin’ in the camp which is just as well because if it was left to the rest of us then we’d starve to death.” She joked but in reality there was a lot of truth behind it, the only time Varrick had tried to cook was when Bo had been sick with a cold and they’d all nearly died from food poisoning after eating the stew he concocted for them. Since that day no one else was allowed to touch the cooking pot other than Bolin.

Kuvira let out a quiet chuckle, rubbing her eyes as she yawned once more, leaning against the table tiredly.

“Get some sleep Korra.”

“Only if you do too.”

“No promises bucko.”

~

“Mama we need to talk.” Suyin said as she entered her mother’s cabin and the blind woman turned her head to face her from her seat at the table.

“What?” She barked, clearly irritated to have been interrupted in the midst of her dinner which appeared to be beef stew with a chunk of bread.

“We’ve got a problem. Lin’s been robbed and Kya’s hurt, they’re on their way here now. Baatar Senior and I were in Ironpoint and we found their stable hand, Ganke, rushin’ around tryin’ to find medical supplies but the doctor’s was shut. Poor boy was as pale as a sheet when we asked him what was wrong. He told us all ‘bout it and it’s some hillbilly gang that were looking for ‘the murderer’ but couldn’t find whoever it was. Either way they need our help.” She gushed and Toph listened earnestly, thoughtfully chewing a piece of bread as she did so.

“So what yer saying is, there’s a gang of rednecks that attacked Lin’s home in search of someone, turned the place upside down, hurt Kya and then jus’ left?” The old woman growled and her daughter gave her an affirmational ‘mhm’ which only made her mother’s knuckles whiten as she gripped her spoon angrily.

How dare someone attack her other daughter. How dare they hurt her wife. How dare they trespass on Beifong territory with ill-intentions. Who the hell did they think they were? Toph was fuming and looked at Suyin seriously. (or at least looked in her direction.)

“The second the Lin and Kya arrive then you bring ‘em straight to me do you understand girlie?” She said firmly and her daughter nodded rapidly, uttering a quick ‘yes’ to her mother.

“Ok, well off you go then, oh and Kuvira found some scamps trespassing at Bull’s Spring, she’s in the cellar with them.” Toph said with a wave of her hand before turning back to her dinner.

“I know Mama, I’ve already talked to her about it. She’s gonna escort them to their home in the mornin’.”

There was an uncomfortable pause as the matriarch sat mulling over what Suyin had said, clearly disagreeing with her decision.

“I hope, for your sake, you weren’t too hard on her. She did good bringin’ ‘em here. Kuvira’s a great kid so don’t you forget it.” The elder stated and her daughter opened her mouth to respond but decided against it as whatever she said would be wrong. Her mother was right, Kuvira was a good kid and she only had good intentions by bringing the trespassers back to their camp but in the heat of the moment, her mind clouded over with worry for her sister, Su had snapped at her and treated her like a child which was something the dark-haired girl utterly detested. She made a note to apologise to her daughter in the morning as she stepped out of Toph’s cabin and into the cool night air, making her way to her own home.

\------------------------

Kuvira hadn’t slept a wink and as a result was exhausted when morning finally came, making it hard for her to want to get out of her chair and wake up Korra and Mako because doing that meant she’d have to ride for god knows how long just to get them home. Despite her reluctance she stood from her chair, her joints cracking and popping as she stretched, sighing when she unlocked the cell door. It then occurred to her that she was unsure how to wake the two outlaws in a ‘nice’ way as usually their captives didn’t stay the night, instead getting shot long before that. So she stood there awkwardly for a little bit, contemplating her options until she decided crouching at Korra’s side and poking her in the arm.

“Hey, wake up.” She whispered but she got little response from the tanned girl who just shifted slightly in her slumber, mumbling an incoherent sentence. Kuvira was really usure as to what to do next so she decided to poke her again, speaking a little louder.

“Come on bucko, get up.”

 _“Mphgfhph.”_ Korra grumbled but her eyelids fluttered open anyways and she looked up at the gunslinger with sleepy eyes. “Oh…hey good-lookin’.” She said with a cheeky and tired grin as she rubbed her eyes, sitting up to look at Kuvira.

“Uh…’scuse me?” The dark-haired girl asked with a confused frown on her fae, standing up and stepping back awkwardly as she tried to process what the younger girl had just said to her. Korra bit her tongue and looked at the taller girl with wide eyes as she realised that she’d said what she’d been thinking by accident.

“Uh, I…I um…you see I-“

“-KUVIRA! WHY HAVE YOU NOT TAKEN THOSE SCAMPS BACK YET? IT’S SEVEN IN THE MORNIN’! FOR CHRISTS SAKES GET A WIGGLE ON.”   
  


The shouting was enough to wake Mako up and they all jumped at the sheer volume of the bellowing voice from above. The cellar door was almost ripped open and flooded the room with daylight as a young man stormed down the stairs angrily, marching towards his sister.

“Fuck off Baatar, you don’t get to come down her and jaw me! You ain’t in charge!” The taller girl snapped, completely forgetting her awkward interaction with Korra, in favour of turning to face her least favourite sibling.

“Well I will be soon! Ma and Pa and gonna stay with Aunt Lin for a while and when they’re gone I’m being put in charge.” Her brother said smugly, scowling at his younger sister aggressively as he leant against the open door of the cell. To be completely honesty Kuvira wouldn’t put it past him to lock her inside with the other two outlaws and leave her there to rot so she made sure to stand close to him just in case he tried anything on.

“You’re shootin’ you’re mouth off you righteous little hillbilly! Nana Toph’s gonna keep the pot a boiling so don’t you go galivantin’ around like you own the place.” She spat and he growled at her, folding his arms angrily.

“We’ll see about that little sister.” He hissed “Jus’ get these assholes outta here.” And like that he was back up those stairs, stomping out of the cellar and back into the barn, leaving his sibling to stew in his absence. Mako and Korra looked at each other a little nervously as she turned to them and motioned for them to exit the cell. They did so after grabbing their coats and boots and started to pick up their belongings off of the table, re-strapping their belts and holstering their guns although they both noticed the lack of ammunition present and realised that it must have been confiscated in case they tried anything.

“Let’s go, I got Wing and Wei to fetch your horses from where you hitched ‘em so we can ride back to your camp.” The tall girl said grumpily as she started up the stairs of the cellar and into the barn above with the two outlaws following swiftly behind her. It was weird seeing the camp in the daylight as suddenly everything looked a lot less scary and a lot more normal. They’d expected to see torture chambers and evil-looking gangsters with guns pointed at them but both fire ferrets had been pleasantly surprised that actually the Beifongs seemed to be completely and utterly normal human-beings.

The camp was full of life with people moving to-and-fro, livestock scampering around with dogs chasing them and barking happily. The smell of food wafted through the air and birds were chirping sweetly which only made Korra imagine the amazing family meals that they must have together but that image was quickly shattered as the idyllic scene before fell apart as lots of shouting broke out. Kuvira seemed completely unbothered by the ruckus and continued to walk Korra and Mako towards the hitching posts where their horses were tied. The voices appeared to belong to the old woman that’d spoken to Kuvira last night, Nana Toph as Korra recalled, and the young man that had just yelled at the green-eyed girl, Baatar was it?

“You’re so crooked you could swallow nails an’ spit out corkscrews!” The elderly woman screeched at her grandson who was staring at the floor and scowling at it as if it was his worst enemy with his arms folded firmly in defiance.

“I am the leader of this gang and you don’t get to go orderin’ other folks around jus’ because your parents will be leavin’ soon! You’re the least fit person to run this place ‘cause all you care ‘bout is cash and killin’ people, you’re nothin’ but bad and if you think that I’m gonna let you run riot here then you’re sorely mistaken boy!” The matriarch yelled angrily and Mako and Korra winced at the harshness of her words but they grimaced even more as she continued to berate her grandson.

“And I can’t even fathom why that lovely girl wants to spend a second of her time with you, let alone get hitched to you! You’re a slob and an ingrate and she’d be much better off with Kuvira or Huan than a good-for-nothing scumbag like you!”

Both Korra and Mako bumped into the dark-haired girl’s back as she came to a sudden stop in front of them. The tall girl, previously disinterested in the argument that was taking place by one of the cabins, was now staring quite intently as she listened to the disagreement in earnest.

“How can you say that old woman?! I’m better than all of them combined and yet you won’t let me take the reins! It ain’t fair and I’m sick and tired of being treated like an equal to them! I deserve to lead this gang.” Baatar Jr retaliated and Kuvira let out a quiet gasp as her grandmother raised her hand and gave him a harsh slap across the cheek, the resounding ‘smack’ echoing throughout the camp.

“Get that bullshit outta your head and come and find me when you’ve come to yer senses! And it’s Grandma to you, not ‘old woman’ you foul-mouthed rat!” She cried angrily before turning on her heel and making her way in the direction of her cabin (albeit slowly given her age) leaving Baatar to stare at her retreating form, his eyes trying to bore holes in the back of her head with the intensity and fury in his gaze.

“Serves you right you beef-headed b’hoy.” Kuvira muttered and it made Korra wonder what the backstory was between the two because it appeared that the dark-haired girl had a distasteful opinion of the boy and given his behaviour so far she could understand why.

The gunslinger finally stopped staring and continued their walk towards the hitching posts which prompted the two fire ferrets to follow her once more until they reached the horses. Korra moved past Kuvira to reach Naga, cooing softly to the mare once she reached her as the white Nokota huffed softly into her riders hands.

“I’ve missed you too girl.” She murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the clean white hair of the steed’s neck and patting her on the shoulder. When Korra looked up she saw Mako doing the same to his own mount, stroking his face gently as he whispered quiet words into the stallion’s ear. Neither of them had realised how much they’d missed their horses and they were both enormously grateful to Kuvira for arranging for the two nags to be brought to the Beifong’s camp.

The Beifong outlaw was off to one side with her own stallion and was currently trying to lead him closer to the fire ferrets but he had planted all four hooves firmly in the ground and was refusing to take a single step in the Nokota and Shires direction, as if being near the other horses would kill him.

“Come on you Hawk you grumpy bastard.” The taller girl grumbled and the stallion huffed at her as if to say ‘no’. He had very evidently decided that he did not want to go and meet Naga or Cooter and no matter what Kuvira did she couldn’t change his mind as he stood stock still.

“Fine, I’ll just get on from here then…asshole.” She muttered irritatedly and she deftly mounted the warmblood which then prompted the other two outlaws to do the same, quickly hopping up onto their horses and settling themselves into their saddles for the long ride ahead. The dark-haired girl led them out of the camp and along a nice little trail which Korra thought was the one they’d walked through last night but she couldn’t be sure. The softs sounds of the hooves on the ground was the only noise that accompanied them and when you listened you could hear how the steps from the each horse differentiated. From Mako’s steed came a heavy and slow thump with every footfall, Naga sounding out much faster and lighter steps and finally Hawk giving loud and rapid steps as he practically danced on the spot, still infuriated by their presence.

Despite the fact that her stallion was practically walking sideways and huffing like a train, his whole body tense with anger, Kuvira seemed to be remarkably relaxed as she rode, clearly used to this sort of behaviour from the beast. She was also, rather obviously, a very natural horse rider as her body moved with his rather than against it, matching his movements yet keeping him steady. They seemed to be fluid unit rather than two separate entities and it was quite something to watch. Korra had always thought herself a good rider but even she knew that her skill paled in comparison to the gunslinger’s.

The smell of smoke brought her from her awe filled thoughts and she turned to see Mako with a freshly lit roll-up dangling from his lips and she grimaced. He caught her eye and sighed, moving so he was riding slightly behind her in an attempt to keep the smoke from blowing into her face. She smiled at him appreciatively before turning back to look at Kuvira, deciding that now was the right moment to ask something that had been eating at her mind since the early morning.

“What’s going on with you an’ Baatar? You two don’t appear to get on very well.” She asked and much to her surprise the other girl answered almost immediately without a second thought, as if she’d been expecting the question.

“He’s an asshole an’ he thinks he’s better than the rest of us. He also doesn’t respect Nana an’ that pisses me off.” She admitted bluntly with a shrug of her shoulders as she turned them onto a new track. Not that far away was the sound of rushing water which meant they were getting close to the spring again and both her and Mako started to recognise some of their surroundings.

“Fair enough.” The tanned girl replied and silence resumed once more as Kuvira clearly didn’t want to elaborate any further but Korra vaguely understood. When she’d been growing up there had been these twins called Eska and Desna who were supposed to be her cousins (although she didn’t understand how that was possible given how different they were to her) and they were both complete pricks but they were still her family (sort of) so in a way she’d felt tied to them. She understood the frustration the other girl felt at being related to idiots (or in Kuvira’s case: just one idiot)

Korra hadn’t seen Eska or Desna since the day her parents had died, she presumed they were dead too as most people from their gang were, Korra not included. They had been a small group, mainly consisting of family members or people that were regarded as such, and whilst they’d never been troublemakers they were by no means lawful and frequently stole or killed in order to survive. Their gang had been ‘run’ by her parents, Tonraq and Senna, although there had always been some dispute between her father and her uncle, his brother, Unalaq with both of them having the occasional spat over leadership but it had never really amounted to anything. There had also been elderly Katara who had tended to their medical needs, what with being a qualified doctor, and she had been the one had saved Korra the day the pinkertons had come, hiding the teenager and instructing her to stay put until someone came to find her. She never saw the old woman again and had also presumed her dead, along with her daughter Kya whom the younger girl had absolutely adored.

Kya had been like an older **(much older)** sister to her and had always taken her out of the camp on adventures and trips, going to towns together or fishing in one of the many creeks and rivers that surrounded their camp. Kya was the one who’d taught her how to ride a horse and had also been the person who’d saved a young and brash Korra from getting arrested multiple times. The older girl had always looked out for her and when she’d realised that she’d died that day the younger girl had cried and cried and cried until her lungs burned and her eyes ached. She missed Kya every day, almost more than she did her own parents and just thinking about the her made the tanned girl’s eyes brim with tears almost immediately.

“Hey uh…Kuvira? Why are you still with us? We passed the spring and left Beifong territory like an hour ago.”

Korra blinked and looked at Mako who had spoken and noticed that the sun was now high in the sky, suggesting to her that she’d been lost in her thoughts for far longer than she’d thought. She then turned to look to her other side and saw the dark-haired girl also still riding with them, as Mako had said, and found that she too was questioning the gunslinger’s presence (not that she minded though because Kuvira was still wearing that white tank top that hugged her muscular torso so tantalisingly).

“I’m going all the way home with you. Wherever your camp is, that’s where I’m takin’ you.” She stated matter-of-factly and they both knew that there was no arguing with her so with Mako leading the way they all picked up the pace and began the ride back to their camp.

\------------------------

“Holy shit.”

The campsite was deserted and mostly destroyed, the smell of smoke hanging in the air as they observed their blackened surroundings. There were strips of tent cloth and clothes scattered across the charred grass and every single crate or box had been upturned and tipped out, stripped clean of belongings. The worst part was that when Korra started calling out her companions names, she received nothing but an empty silence in response and Mako getting the same when he called for his brother.

“BOLIN?! COME ON BO THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” He bellowed but the blue eyed girl could hear the crack in his voice which betrayed the stoic façade he was trying to maintain.

“WU? WU PLEASE JUST ANSWER ME!” Mako yelled.

“There’s no-one here.” Kuvira said, leaning against one of the upturned crates and Korra scowled at her angrily.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed! Thanks so much for that useful piece of information!” She spat and the green-eyed girl rolled her eyes before turning and walking back to Hawk before mounting him. Both fire ferrets looked at her irritatedly, folding their arms in frustration.

“So you’re leavin’ us here? You’re just gonna fuck off home and abandon us?” Mako scorned and again she rolled her eyes, adjusting her hat slightly so it was sat slightly further back on her head, allowing them to see her eyes more clearly.

“Yep.” She shrugged nonchalantly and Korra couldn’t quite believe that someone could be so heartless, she turned back to the smoking mess that had been their camp and sighed quietly.

“Just go.” She murmured tiredly, she wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt so exhausted but she guessed the events of the past few days had caught up with her. Rather surprisingly there seemed to be some hesitation from the gunslinger when she heard the fatigue in the tanned girl’s voice and she stared at her briefly, as if she were assessing the situation.

“I said GO!” Korra cried furiously and she got one more hard stare from the taller girl before she promptly clicked her tongue and turned Hawk, spurring him on as she cantered off, away from the camp and leaving the two distraught fire ferrets behind her.

Once they were alone Korra sank to her knees, feeling the dampness of the grass seep into her pants, and she surveyed the area before her. Her camp was empty, destroyed, burned to the ground and her gang had disappeared, every single one of them, bar Mako, missing, gone, vanished into thin air. Whoever did this would pay and when she found them, she would rain hellfire upon them, she’d make them suffer. She wouldn’t have her family ripped away from her…not again…never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Tube - another word for cigarette
> 
> mutton-headed - stupid/ignorant
> 
> wiping your chin - being quiet
> 
> hollering/hollerin' - shouting
> 
> scoot - get out of here/ just go
> 
> screamer - an extraordinary person (in this case it's used as a compliment)
> 
> scamp - fool/idiot
> 
> bazoo - mouth 
> 
> the big jump - death (to give someone the big jump means to kill them)
> 
> shanny/shannies - a fool/fools
> 
> shut pan - shut up
> 
> Singin' to 'em - guarding them
> 
> Scaly - Mean
> 
> Sage hen - woman
> 
> dead-meat - dead
> 
> easy on the eyes - attractive/good looking/nice to look at
> 
> be sweet on - 'to be sweet on' someone is to have fallen in love with them
> 
> to spoon - 'to spoon' someone is to woo or court them in an attempt to encourage them having romantic feelings towards you.
> 
> sparrow-catching - looking for a girl to go out with 
> 
> bucko - short for 'buckaroo' which simply means 'cowboy'
> 
> hillbilly - a ruffian/bandit who usually has bad intentions. 
> 
> to jaw - to jaw someone is to 'have a go at' them
> 
> shootin' your mouth off - you're lying/talking shit
> 
> keep the pot a boilin' - keep everything going/running smoothly
> 
> beef-headed - stupid
> 
> b'hoy - rowdy young man/ruffian
> 
> That's it for this one! Again thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed! Until next time my cinnamon buns! uwu


End file.
